Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Turkey about proposals to convert many secular schools into Imam Hatip schools and the forced enrolment of pupils into Imam Hatip schools in 2014.

Our Embassy in Ankara regularly discusses education policies with senior Turkish cabinet ministers and officials, and Turkish education unions. In January our Ambassador met with Mehmet Görmez, President of the Diyanet (Presidency of Religious Affairs in Turkey), and discussed religious education and Imam Hatip schools with him. More widely, we regularly raise human rights issues with the Turkish government, including the importance of freedom of religion and safeguarding the rights of minority groups.