Turkish Education Minister Yusuf Tekin pushes Ottoman‑Republic curriculum overhaul amid legal challenges

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin announced a major revision of Turkey's history curriculum, saying that "Osmanlı ile Cumhuriyet’i barıştırmalıyız" (the Ottoman and Republic must be reconciled). The changes include presenting the Ottoman Empire as part of the nation’s heritage, removing the term “Haçlı Seferleri” from textbooks (“Haçlı Severleri kavramını tarih müfredatından çıkardım”), and renaming references to the War of Independence.

Tekin highlighted recent investments in education, noting the construction of 450‑500 thousand new classrooms, internet access and smart‑board installation in 650 thousand classrooms, and improvements in teacher‑to‑student ratios.

The reforms sparked sharp criticism from opposition parties and political figures such as Ümit Özdağ, who accused Tekin of undermining the Republic. Two lawyers, former Ankara Bar Association president Mustafa Alemdaroğlu and İsmail Sami Çakmak, filed a criminal complaint with the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office, alleging violations of the Constitution, the Turkish Education Basic Law, and the Criminal Code (articles 302 and 309) for attempting to erase the Republic’s narrative.