One Common Future, Two Education Systems: The Case of Syrian Children of Istanbul

Abstract

The unexpected and vast Syrian refugee crisis with an ever-growing number of young Syrians appears to be one of the greatest challenges for the Turkish education system. While low enrollment rates are alarming, the dual system that emerged in the urban settings creates a main challenge to a comprehensive and supportive education system and unfortunately does not offer a good starting point for the future inclusion of Syrian refugees in society. This article’s main argument is that a culture of togetherness and a common future can only be assured by a comprehensive education system that ensures equal opportunity, diversity, and plurality.

Notes

¹Since Turkey signed the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees with “geographic limitation,” it legally grants refugee status only to Europeans. Therefore, although these individuals fleeing violence or persecution in Syria have the necessary qualifications to be recognized as refugees, since they do not come from Europe they are under a temporary protection regime granting them a legal temporary protection status based on Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP) and Temporary Protection Regulation (TPR) issued by authorities in October 2014. For English versions of the LFIP and TPR see http://www.goc.gov.tr/files/files/temptemp.pdf and http://www.goc.gov.tr/files/files/YUKK_I%CC%87NGI%CC%87LI%CC%87ZCE_BASKI(1)(1).pdf.

²Deputy Undersecretary, Responsible for Syrian Refugee Education, Ercan Demirci’s Speech at “Syrian Students in Turkish Higher Education System” International Conference, March 9, 2017, Hatay.

³We have chosen deliberately not to engage Syrian children and parents during the interviews. First, due to the scope of the study, we decided to limit our research to policymaking, educational provisions, and institutional responses, rather than refugee children’s and parents’ experiences. Second, the sensitive nature of the study, especially interviewing children, creates a very delicate process, requiring specialists and long periods of time.

⁴For an English version of the Circular see Jalbout (2015, Appendix 2).

⁵As per the information we have received from the MoNE deputy secretary in our interview dated March 1, 2016. Only 3,500 students out of 7,500 passed the exam. And 4,000 students passed this year’s exam and conveyed to higher education according to MoNE (MEB, 2016).

⁶Some of these schools give service to a tremendous number of students; for instance, the school named Şamuna operating in Esenler is giving education to more than 1,500 students with 100 staff members.

⁷As a part of the nation and state building process, the Turkish education system—possessing the destructive multiethnic and multicultural legacy of the Ottoman Empire—has been a centralized system far from recognizing diversity. However, at this point we have to remember that the curriculum revisions during the 2005 education reform related to Turkey’s EU membership procedure were an important step in building a better education environment integrating diversity. The indispensable fictions of the syllabus, like gender inequality, ethnic discrimination, and militarism, have been changed and courses/modules on human rights, democracy, and citizenship have been added to curriculum. However, the education system is still not reflecting the multicultural structure of Turkish society and needs further improvement.

⁸Law on Foreigners and International Protection, Article 62.

⁹Law on Foreigners and International Protection, Article 63.

¹⁰Temporary Protection Regulation number 29153, dated October 22, 2014, Article 16: “International protection applications—Individual international protection applications filed by foreigners under this regulation shall not be processed in order to ensure the effective implementation of temporary protection measures during the period of the implementation of temporary protection”.

¹¹Temporary Protection Regulation number 29153, dated October 22, 2014, Article 25: “Right to stay in the country—Temporary protection identification document shall grant the right to stay in Turkey. However, this document shall not be deemed to be equivalent to a residence permit or documents, which substitute residence permits, as regulated by the Law, shall not grant the right for transition to long term residence permit, its duration shall not be taken into consideration when calculating the total term of residence permit durations and shall not entitle its holder to apply for Turkish citizenship.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Y. Yesim Ozer

Y. Yesim Ozer completed her PhD in European Union (EU) politics and international relations at the University of Marmara EU Institute. She is currently an associate professor in the Faculty of Political Science, İstanbul University. Her main research topic is EU–Turkey relations, migration, and public administration policies.

Aysegul Komsuoglu

Aysegul Komsuoglu is currently a professor of political science in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul University. She was a visiting scholar at Emory University (2003–2004) and at UC Berkeley (2009–2010). Her research topics include politics of inequality, Turkish right-wing politics, and democratization in comparative perspective. Her present research focuses on Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Z. Ozde Atesok

Z. Ozde Atesok holds an MA in European Studies from Boğaziçi University and is a PhD candidate in the Political Science and International Relations Department at İstanbul University. Her research interests include comparative politics, democratization, migration, and refugee education.