Let Co-education End, It Has Emerged That the People Behind the Call Met With Education Minister Yusuf Tekin Just a Week Earlier

In its Tuesday edition, Yeni Akit directly targeted co-education, claiming many developed countries had abandoned the model and urging that families be given the right to choose their children's education model. The front page drew widespread public backlash. Cumhuriyet columnist Barış Pehlivan revealed in his Wednesday column that the figures presented as "educators" who called for an end to co-education had met with Tekin the previous week.

"Yes, this call was not independent; it came from within, Pehlivan wrote. According to Pehlivan, the group had been invited by the ministry under the ÇEDES project, received a plaque of thanks from Tekin, whom they praised for his "courage, and held what they called "consultations. He also noted that Tekin himself has long opposed co-education, pointing to a 12-year-old Yeni Akit front page that quoted the then-ministry undersecretary under the headline "Co-education is not compulsory.

Pehlivan argued that one of Yeni Akit's missions is to test public reaction and measure the government's political risks on critical issues before they are officially floated. The ministry has not yet commented on the report. The controversy comes amid ongoing debate over Turkey's education model under the ruling party.