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Constitutional Court rejects CHP’s appeal to annul new education law

Türkiye Materials 21 September 2012 03:06 (UTC +04:00)
The Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal filed by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) requesting the annulment of some articles of a recently approved law which increases the duration of compulsory education from eight years to 12, during a meeting on Thursday.
Constitutional Court rejects CHP’s appeal to annul new education law

The Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal filed by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) requesting the annulment of some articles of a recently approved law which increases the duration of compulsory education from eight years to 12, during a meeting on Thursday.

The law, passed in Parliament in March and approved by President Abdullah Gül within weeks, increased the current duration of compulsory education from an uninterrupted eight years to 12 years and divided it into three four-year stages -- primary school, middle school and high school and is popularly known as the "4+4+4" education law, Todays Zaman reported.

The CHP, a staunch critic of the law, filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court in June for the second time after the Constitutional Court rejected its first appeal to annul the education law on procedural grounds in May.

The Constitutional Court will publish details of its decision on its website on Friday.

The Constitutional Court rapporteur appointed to evaluate the case earlier submitted a report on his opinion regarding the CHP's appeal in which he stated that the education law is in accordance with the Constitution and said the court should reject the appeal. The opinion of the rapporteur is not binding on the Constitutional Court.

Annulment of the education law, which came into effect on Monday with the start of the 2012-2013 school year, could have drawn the Turkish education system into a chaotic situation as everything has been redesigned in accordance with the new education system.

One of the articles the CHP wants to annul is the article that lowered the mandatory starting school age from 72 months to 66 months. Another article for which the CHP has requested an annulment is one which divided compulsory education into three four-year blocks. In addition, there is also an article that paves the way for the re-establishment of imam-hatip middle schools, which offer religious education. The CHP also has requested the annulment of the article which makes the establishment of elective courses on the Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad possible.

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