Turkey mulls including concept of jihad in school curriculaJanuary 16, 2017 - 16:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s Education Ministry is in the process of including the concept of jihad in compulsory school curricula, the Cumhuriyet daily reported on Friday, January 13. Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz explained the details of the new curriculum to media representatives. The new curriculum, which will be finalized in February, will be put into effect during the 2017-2018 academic year, Turkey Purge said. According to Cumhuriyet, the concept of jihad will be compulsory in school curricula after seventh grade. Yilmaz said the ministry has removed a chapter on the theory of evolution from a textbook for 12th graders, according to a newly announced curriculum by the ministry. One of the changes in the new curriculum is the removal from a textbook of a chapter titled “The beginning of life and evolution.” It has been replaced by a chapter titled “Living creatures and the environment.” In a speech in 2012, then-Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that his government wants to raise a “pious generation.” Since then, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has embarked on a process of opening religious imam-hatip schools across Turkey. When the AKP took power in 2002, around 65,000 students were enrolled in imam-hatip schools, which are widely criticized for instilling a political Islamist ideology. That figure had risen to more than 1.5 million by 2016. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |