Number of pre-school aged children at religion courses in Turkey increases by 14 times

BURCU CANSU
@burcu_cansu / burcucansu@birgun.net

Religion Affairs Administration and National Education Ministry of Turkey have been speeding up their efforts to ‘raise a religious generation’ in Turkey, in line with the vows of the current president of the country Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As part of such efforts, Koran courses have spread under the cover of ‘pre-schools for age groups of 4-6.’

While data indicate that 4723 children of this age group attended these Koran courses in the academic year of 2013-2014 – the year when the program was launched -, this number reached 67,956 as of January 2017.

These courses are encouraged by the current government’s officials and the Religion Affairs Administration as an alternative to Ottoman-style pre-schools called ‘sıbyan maktab.’

According to the latest information shared by the Administration on its official website, 2607 Koran courses for pre-school aged children have opened since 2013. And, the purpose of the courses is defined as: “For children of ages 4-6 to discover the values and teachings of Islam as factors that contribute to the meaning of life and to practice these values in their daily lives”…

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/dini-egitim-hizla-yayginlasiyor-145262.html