126 Village schools closed

In 1940 these village institutes became subject to official regulations. In mid-September the school year began. Students received theoretical and practical instruction, enabling them to find work in the villages. The secular, co-educational schools elicited substantial opposition: people were afraid of educating ‘tomorrow’s communists.’ In 1953 the village institutes were closed. Many of the thousands of students who attended these institutions were later active in the teachers’ union Türkiye Ögretmenler Sendikasi.

Köy Enstitüleri [village institutes]
Late 1930s
Photograph from photo album, 12 x 18

Location