Turkey court annuls controversial educational law
Turkey's Constitutional Court has ruled to invalidate a controversial law that sought to close down private preparatory schools in the country, which are mostly run by the US-exiled opposition figure, Fethullah Gulen.
The court ruled late on Monday that the law adopted by the parliament in March 2014 to completely close down the centers, known as dershanes in Turkish, as of September 1, 2015, was unconstitutional.
The measure to annul the legislation was adopted following a petition by Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
The dershanes are very popular in Turkey. A total of 3,800 of these centers are catering for 1.2 million students, who are seeking to win a place in top schools and most sought-after universities.
Opponents of the law argued that the legislation would exclude the most underprivileged students from top academic centers, and augment the impact of socio-economic differences on the results of entrance examinations.
The critics further noted that the law was contrary to Turkey’s Constitution, including Article 17, which says that “everyone has the right to the protection and development of tangible and intangible assets.”
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, in a surprise move, decided in November 2013 to close dershanes as part of educational reforms. The AK Party government's bill engineered by then Prime Minister and now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was passed by the parliament on March 7, 2014 and signed into law by then President Abdullah Gul five days later.
Supporters of Erdogan's rival Gulen brought corruption allegations in December 2013 against his government, which plunged the country into a political turmoil and led to a cabinet reshuffle.
Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, has repeatedly denied any involvement.
On December 19, 2014, an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant for the US-based cleric.
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