Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader has said his party will hold its next parliamentary group meeting in Tandogan Sqaure in Ankara in protest to government-sponsored compulsary education reform, Today's Zaman reported.
He said they will explain to people how Turkey is going backwards with the proposed education reforms in their group meeting next Tuesday.
Kılıcdaroglu told reporters in Ankara during a reception in the US Embassy that CHP will hold its parliamentary group meeting in Tandogan Square and the Ankara Governor's Office has already granted the permission for the meeting.
The government wants to change the duration of compulsory education from a consecutive and uninterrupted eight years to a version formulized as the "4+4+4 system," where children will be able to enroll in other types of educational institutions -- namely vocational high schools -- after the first four years.
Parliament's National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Commission already passed the bill with what opposition says "brute force" after deputies from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) occupied the commission seats. The bill, if adopted, will divide 12 years of compulsory education into three levels and was submitted to the Parliament on Wednesday.
Currently, primary school is an eight-year, uninterrupted basic education that includes middle school, and therefore middle school is eliminated. If the bill becomes law, middle schools will be re-established with basic primary school education separated into two levels.
Women's rights group, some civil society organizations and opposition parties have harshly criticized the proposal, claiming it will clear the way for child labor and will strengthen the position of religious schools in the Turkish education system.