Generations of students in Turkey who are sitting in school desks this autumn are the last to learn about evolution in biology classes, as Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution will be removed from school textbooks starting next autumn, reports Al Arabi.
Turkey will thus change more than 170 topics in the curriculum, and Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz announced that under the new teaching plan and program, students will learn about evolutionary mechanisms such as natural selection, while the topic of evolution itself is considered too advanced for high schools and will only be taught as part of obtaining a college education.
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Yilmaz defended the announced move with arguments that younger students have not been able to understand the scientific basis of the theory of evolution, and that this topic will be addressed in undergraduate studies.
The announced changes have provoked strong reactions, with critics characterizing them as a reshaping of education into conservative, Islam-oriented government decisions. Some biologists stated that due to this move, Turkish students will not be able to understand even basic science, while other scientists pointed to other countries that will exclude the theory of evolution from education, such as Saudi Arabia.
Some Muslims, just like some Christians, believe in creation rather than natural selection. In Turkey, the population is predominantly of the Muslim faith, while their constitution emphasizes a secular character.
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A struggle has been ongoing between secular and religiously oriented Turks since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power. Critics have long accused Erdogan of destroying the secular foundations of modern Turkey that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk established when the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923.
