Turkish education director appoints imams to 99 district schools

Duvar English

As part of the "I Am Sensitive to My Environment and Uphold My Values" (ÇEDES) project, the Bornova District Directorate of Education in İzmir province has assigned imams, preachers, and religious instructors to 99 schools in the district, according to an official notice.

All assignments were made through the Bilal Saygılı Mosque, named after the İzmir Provincial Chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the daily BirGun reported.

Of the 99 appointments, 60 were allocated to primary and middle schools.

The Executive Board of Education and Science Workers' Union (Eğitim-Sen) İzmir Branch emphasized that the implemented practices contradict students' cognitive development and pedagogical principles. 

The board stated, "Religious activities within and outside schools, such as collective prayer events and having students clean cemeteries, which have occasionally appeared in the media, are harmful to children’s mental development. Religious-themed activities in classrooms—such as those involving models of the Kaaba and graves—fundamentally contradict secular education and the objectives of teaching and learning."

What's ÇEDES?

The ÇEDES project was launched in 2023 through a protocol signed between the Education Ministry, the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), and the Youth and Sports Ministry. The project expanded the roles of the Education Ministry’s Directorate of Religious Education and the Diyanet.

The initiative allowed religious officials to provide the so-called values education to students under the title of "spiritual advisors." The protocol defines spiritual advisors as preachers, religious services specialists, Quran course instructors, and religious officials offering spiritual counseling and guidance at Diyanet youth centers and mosques.

Under ÇEDES, imams have been assigned to schools in several cities across the country, including İzmir, Eskişehir, and Kırklareli provinces where they organized controversial events such as practicing fake animal sacrifices in the classroom or making students fast.

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