Still, evolution is briefly taught in many high school biology courses in the region.”

It’s difficult to know if Turkey’s decision to do away with evolution in the classroom will inspire other countries to do same, or if this is a development specific to Turkey and its changing sociopolitical landscape. Needless to say, this isn’t going over very well with the country’s secular opposition, who have been accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of steering the nation towards an Islamic agenda that runs contrary to the country’s founding principles. "We are aware that if our students don't have the background to comprehend the premises and hypotheses, or if they don't have the knowledge and scientific framework, they will not be able to understand some controversial issues, so we have left out some of them," Durmus said. Earlier this year, the country’s deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmuş, described evolution as being “archaic” and “lacking sufficient evidence.”

In addition to removing evolution from the curriculum, students will spend less time studying the country’s secular legacy, and shorter shrift will be paid to the nation’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who instilled secular traditions and norms in the country. The changes are part of a new curriculum that will go into effect at the start of the 2017-2018 academic year, and was formulated in accordance with “Turkish values”, Durmus said. A lobby group that promotes secular education, the Egitim-Is (“Education Work”) Union has voiced concern at the changes to the curriculum, saying it reduced emphasis on the achievements of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey who banned Islam from public life.
Turkey decides to stop teaching evolution to its students until their university level curriculum, deeming it controversial and too complex to understand. Critics say this undermines the secular foundation of the Turkish state.