By Ayse Humeyra Atilgan
ANKARA
Through an obligatory course in high school, Turkish students will be able to learn Ottoman Turkish, an idea presented at the 19th Council of Turkey National Education suggested.
The event gave students, parents, teachers and representatives of education trade unions the opportunity to suggest changes to the current educational system.
Attendees said there is increasing demand in Turkish society to learn Ottoman Turkish. The suggestion was later voted on and forwarded to the council's general assembly.
"This is great news, because the practice will make our young people relate to their history," Ahmet Belada, vice president of Turkish History Foundation told The Anadolu Agency.
Turkish people have used a number of different alphabets throughout history including the Arabic alphabet after they accepted Islam.
Later on, Ottoman intellectuals of the last period, including Abdul Hamid II, the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, suggested that Arabic letters should be improved to make reading and writing easier.
In 1928, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, introduced the current 29-letter Turkish alphabet replacing the previous Perso-Arabic script.
The use of the new alphabet was made compulsory in all public communications.
Replacing the Arabic script was defended on the ground that it was not appropriate for the authentic Turkish phonology, but some say the change caused Turks to be cut off from the literary heritage of the Ottoman era.
"There are a lot of historical and literary sources in our libraries and archives written in Ottoman Turkish," Belada said. "Only academics and experts are able to make use of them right now."
Another suggestion that garnered many votes was increasing the number of religious and ethics courses from one to two classes per week in high schools. The same was also suggested for primary school children, including preschoolers.
"Just like we need food and drink to be physically well, we also need religious and ethics education to be spiritually well," Mustafa Kir, provincial head of Memur-Sen trade union in Ankara, told The Anadolu Agency. "What children learn between the ages of 3 and 6 is significant and that is why we focus on moral education early on."
Kir said many parents are sending their children to private schools that offer moral education classes.
"State schools should also provide parents with the same opportunities," he said.
Among the other suggestions at the council's meeting was enabling primary school graduates who want to become "hafiz", those who memorize the entire Qur'an, to suspend their education for two years.
The measure would grant these students long-distance learning opportunities when they are unable to be physically present in school. The idea was well received by council attendees.
The council, organized by the Turkish Ministry of National Education, hosted around 600 students, parents, NGO representatives, educators and academics, as well as government officials, enabling them to voice opinions about the educational system in Turkey.
The first council was held in 1939. Since then, educators, academics and authorities have come together periodically to evaluate and improve the country's education policy.
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