The education policy of the committe of union and progress, the case of İzmir from 1908 to 1923

"The Education Policy of the Committee of Union and Progress, the Case of İzmir from 1908 to 1923." ABSTRACT Many philosophers from Plathon to Konfıçyus who founded their on schools believe that sophisticated society can only exist with virtuous administraters. They also believe this virtue can only be given to administraters through education, not by means of hereditary ways. Just as applied to the administraters, this approximation was also applied to the people who were administered, through different methods but for the same objectives. In another words, administraters tried to force their people to accept their own ideas. As is seen in every country in the past, these principles were the same for the Ottoman Empire too. Starting from the period of progress, the Ottoman Empire put the principles related with this concept into realization through the Enderun mechanizm. Since this system was deteriorated by the internel and externel reasons in the 18th and 19th centuries, this structure was restored starting from 19th century till today. The affect of education can not be neglected during this period. Especially in the Tanzimat Period the educational institutions such as medical and military schools and schools of political sciences were opened up. In the period of the First Constitution, the opening of these schools were extented countrywide. The main purpose of this policy was to strengthen the unity of the Empire. Even the Second Constitution of 1908 could not hinder the seperation of the minorities from the Empire. This shows that the use of the educational institutions to guarantee the unity could not yield the expected result. As a last attempt, the Committee of the Union and Progress made considerable efforts to widen the educational institutions in which all the minorities were to be educated together. The rout of the Wars of Balkans made the then authorities to abondon the idea of unity. Then, they started to educate Turkish citizen of the Empire on the basis of nationalist ideas. The role of the educational institutions which were organized after the Turkish War of the Independence was determined as a westernization tool.