Turkish officials opened the first center of the Anatolian Turkish Academy in the city of Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo, north Syria, as part of the ongoing policy of Turkification of the areas run by Turkey.
The Anatolian Academy will start work in the city and open the door for registration. It will have many departments of different specializations, especially in the medical sector, an anonymous source told North Press.
The opening of this academy is another example of attempts by Turkey at imposing its culture, as it seeks to find a foothold in Syria and impose a de facto policy on the areas it controls in the northwest of the country, in cooperation with the affiliated armed factions.
Since controlling Afrin and its environs in March 2018, Turkey has imposed the Turkish language in the educational curricula at all levels as part of Turkey’s policy of Turkification and demographic change.
Activists and observers argue that Turkey is paving the way, through education and other means, for expansionist plans similar to the scenario of the Sanjak of Alexandretta, which was taken by Turkey in 1936.
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According to activists and observers, Turkey is strengthening its policy of Turkification, to give the civil and cultural sectors a Turkish character with the aim of annexing these areas. This, of course, contradicts the official Turkish statements that keep talking about the unity and integrity of the Syrian territories.
In the academic year (2017-2018), the Turkish language was included in the curriculum for all grades from the first grade to the secondary one, in northwest Syria.
The Turkish language is also one of the main subjects, that is included in the general average for all grades, its full mark is 100, and the minimum failure rate is 50.
Parents of students in schools in the city of Azaz have complained about the difficulties their children face in accepting and learning the Turkish language.
It should be mentioned that Turkey has opened several schools and centers in the areas under its control in northwest Syria to teach the Turkish language.
In late February, Turkish officials opened a cultural center in the city of Jarablus in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, which was preceded by the opening of a medical college and a higher institute for health sciences in the city of al-Ra’i, north of Aleppo.
An official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the Syrian government commented on the decision to open the university as saying: “The Turkish decision is a flagrant violation of the international law.”
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
