Education Scholar: A Generation Became Divided Into 'Us and Them' During AKP Rule

Education scholar Dr. Somel demonstrates that during AKP rule, generations growing up in Turkey experienced a fundamental divide. According to Somel, children born in the same year grew up in completely separate environments; there was almost no contact between these children.

Economic conditions stand out as one of the primary drivers of this divide. Different educational opportunities shaped by budget allocation led to the emergence of unacquainted cohorts within the same generation, unaware of each other's experiences. Children directed toward different educational channels—state schools, private schools, and imam hatip schools—failed to establish common social ground.

Somel summarizes the most striking consequence of this picture as follows: An 'us and them' sentiment was implanted within a single generation. The gulf between these separated, non-interacting groups deepened over time and seriously damaged social cohesion. The selective and divisive implementation of education policies made generational fractures permanent.