The Turkish government has announced its draft primary and secondary school curricula, which now contain no mention of evolution. Turkey's Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Society (see go.nature.com/2kgajpu) urges stakeholders, the Turkish public and the international scientific community to support reinstatement of evolution in the curriculum (comment at go.nature.com/2jusa43 or programdegerlendirme@meb.gov.tr).

In the society's view, Turkey's proclaimed strategy to attain excellence in the life and medical sciences must be backed by a strong educational programme in evolutionary biology. A mechanistic understanding of evolutionary theory is crucial for addressing contemporary challenges such as biodiversity loss. Evolutionary principles have propelled advances in many fields, including agriculture, medicine, pharmacy and nanotechnology.

The society, of which I am president, is willing to assist the Turkish Ministry of National Education to restore and expand evolutionary biology in the curriculum to conform with international standards of biological education.