Erdogan denies university move is attack on secular education system

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's reforming prime minister dedicated to joining the European Union, has rejected charges that his government was seeking to undermine Turkey's secular system of education. As he stepped up his international campaign to launch negotiations on EU membership in December 2004 , Mr Erdogan has been forced on the defensive over a domestic dispute about opening access to university education for students from Islamic schools.