Do not believe in evolution, or the screwdriver

The debate over the exclusion of the theory of evolution from the curriculum in Turkey has now reached a new level, thanks to a man heading the board in charge of overseeing and approving all textbooks and educational materials used in Turkish schools.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the details of the new curriculum and to defend it, Board of Education head Alparslan Durmuş contested that contrary to reports, the theory of evolution was actually included in the curriculum - through its reflections in various courses.

"Do you 'believe' in the screwdriver? Do you 'believe' in the pincer?" Durmuş asked another official during the news conference while trying to explain himself.

"You say 'I use the pincer.' Just like this, do I believe in evolution? No, I don't 'believe' in evolution, but I do use it. I use it in biotechnology and to explain certain biological issues. For me [evolution is] like a tool box. Every theory is in fact a tool box," he said.

To be fair, Durmuş said evolution "is a theory, a valid one," drawing the ire of many ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) supporters who had launched a campaign on social media demanding his removal "for defending the theory of evolution."

"Saying that evolution was excluded [from the curriculum] is ignorant," Durmuş said, noting that antibiotics, the diversity and classification of living organisms, genes, genetic variation and gene technologies, heredity and biological diversity, and stem cell and stem cell technologies are all included in biology textbooks in different chapters.

So it seems that high school students in Turkey will be taught about the applications of the theory of evolution, but not Charles Darwin's theory itself. 

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