Turkey's Education Ministry removes 'Kurtuluş Savaşı' from school textbooks

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin announced that the term “Kurtuluş Savaşı” (War of Independence) will no longer appear in the 8th‑grade history textbook, to be replaced by the broader phrase “Milli Mücadele.” The same revision also omitted the phrase describing Sultan Vahdettin’s departure on an English ship and removed poet Tevfik Fikret from the text.

The changes sparked widespread criticism from opposition parties, teachers’ union Eğitim Sen, and segments of the public, who called the edits an attempt to rewrite Turkish history. Additional reports linked the controversy to proposed policies such as separating schools by gender and further curriculum cuts.

In a related development, the Interior Ministry’s July 15‑related circular labeled the failed 2016 coup attempt a “founding turning point” in democracy, prompting further debate over the state’s historical narrative.