A total 588 children were removed from nine schools in the Netherlands believed to have ties to Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, according to a study by Dutch newspaper Trouw. That is about a fifth of the schools’ total student count.
PO-Raad, the umbrella organization for primary schools in the Netherlands, is concerned about what this may mean for the continuity of these kids education. At least 76 of them are siting at home. According to the PO-Raad, this is the first time that so many kids are removed from so many different schools in such a short time.
The nine schools on the so-called Gulen-list involves seven primary schools and two middle schools. They are located in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Zaandam, Purmerend and Arnhem.
Fethullah Gulen is seen as the main rival of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish government also believes that Gulen was the mastermind behind a failed military coup in the country in July. Since then tensions have been rising between Gulen- and Erdogan supporters in the Turkish community in the Netherlands.
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