Speaking at the opening ceremony of tourism department of Akdeniz University, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said: “In the past, there weren’t any high schools for marine studies; there used to be no high schools for sports, either. Now, there are. In the past, sciences schools could not be opened in districts; now, there are science high schools... And, we are going to open up more İmam-Hatip middle and high schools...”

Asserting that ‘education must be given great importance in order for Turkey to be leveled up with demands of modern civilization’, Çavuşoğlu stated ‘it should not be bothersome to see different schools being opened according to everyone’s demands and needs’ and added that ‘more İmam-Hatip schools (vacational schools with an Islamic curriculum) were going to be opened’ throughout Turkey.

Çavuşoğlu added: “This does not mean a deviance from education; and, it does not mean a deviance from religion, either. Turkey is a secular country but it is not secular in the sense of the older mindset. Turkey is now a country where everyone has freedom of religion and belief and practices it without discrimination based on religion or sects. Everyone must be able to go to school freely with whatever outfit they want to put on. This is what we want to do in Turkey. And, it is not a deformity...”

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/cavusoglu-daha-fazla-imam-hatip-lisesi-acacagiz-140741.html