- Title: Turkey rolls out new school curriculum - without Darwin
- Date: 18th July 2017
- Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS IN CLASSROOM
- Embargoed: 1st August 2017 20:35
- Keywords: Turkey education curriculum Darwin theory of evolution
- Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
- City: ANKARA, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Education,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0026Q8WSHZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Turkey announced a new school curriculum on Tuesday (July 18) that excluded Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, feeding opposition fears that President Tayyip Erdogan is subverting the republic's secular foundations.
Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz said the main elements of evolution already underpinned the science curriculum, but there would be no mention of Darwin's landmark theory until university.
The theory of evolution is rejected by both Christian and Muslim creationists, who believe God created the world as described in the Bible and the Koran, making the universe and all living things in six days.
Erdogan, accused by critics of crushing democratic freedoms with tens of thousands of arrests and a clampdown on media since a failed coup in July 2016, has in the past spoken of raising a "pious generation".
The chairman of Union of Education and Science Workers (Egitim-Is), Mehmet Balik described the changes as a huge step in the wrong direction for Turkey's schools and an attempt to avoid raising "generations who ask questions". - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
