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Gun attacks that occurred one after another in schools in Riha (Urfa) and Mereş (Maraş) have once again drawn attention to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)–Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) government’s education policies, which critics say impose an ideological framework, lack quality and reduce students to a reserve of cheap labor for capital. Hüseyin Özev, former spokesperson of the Confederation of Public Employees’ Trade Unions (KESK) Istanbul Branches Platform and head of the Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen) Branch No. 9, spoke to ANF and stressed that school violence can only be addressed through changes in education policies.
The government is responsible for violence in education
Hüseyin Özev recalled that the Ministry of National Education has been governed by the AKP for 24 years, emphasizing that the increasing violence in schools cannot be considered independently of the government’s education policies. He stated that the current generation has been shaped by these policies and said: “The government is responsible for the violence erupting in schools today. The AKP has turned the Ministry of National Education into an inextricable mess. The education system has become one where those who can afford it receive schooling, while those who cannot are pushed into the hands of religious sects and communities, and through Vocational Training Centers (MESEM) projects, students are handed over to capital. The prevailing mentality in this system is, ‘Should everyone study? Should everyone become a doctor?’ We reject this approach. Of course, everyone should study. If your child can attend a private school and build a future, then the citizen’s child has the same right to education. As a government and as a state, it is your duty to provide citizens with quality education.”
Education has become fully commercialized
Hüseyin Özev said inequality in the education system has deepened in recent years, pointing to the Vocational Training Centers project as the clearest example. He noted that in this model, students spend most of the week working and said: “Children are made to work in industry for four days and attend school for one day. On that one day, they cannot even follow lessons; they fall asleep at their desks due to exhaustion. Under such conditions, it is impossible to speak of quality education. In such a system, young people who are anxious about the future, under pressure and exploited are driven toward gangs and drugs.”
Özev recalled that in the past, children from different social classes studied together in neighborhood schools, whereas today the divide between rich and poor has become more pronounced. He stressed that education has lost its public character, become fully commercialized, and turned into a system where only those with financial means can access quality education.
Demand for a living wage turns into ‘I don’t want to die while working’
Özev added that this situation affects not only students but also teachers through the practice of “paid teaching.” He described this system as a form of outright exploitation, noting that teachers work for wages below the minimum wage, sometimes for amounts comparable to the cost of cigarettes, and even have their pay cut when they fall ill.
Comparing the salary of a tenured teacher (for example, 78,000 Turkish lira) with that of a paid teacher (around 18,000 Turkish lira), Özev emphasized the vast gap despite both performing the same work. He also reminded that teachers are victims of violence, citing recent cases in which they were either killed while shielding students or stabbed in classrooms. He said that teachers who struggle for a wage that allows a dignified life have now reached the point of saying, “I do not want to die while working.”
Submission-based system and suppressive management must end
Hüseyin Özev stated that the Ministry of National Education has effectively been placed under the control of a single union, adding that none of the unions representing opposition voices are included in administrative positions. He underlined that the issue is not only the creation of a compliant generation, but also a governing mentality that suppresses problems and pushes them under the carpet, and said: “These buried problems eventually erupt, as seen in recent cases. When the AKP abolished the eight-year education system and introduced the 4+4+4 model, we strongly criticized it. But no one listened. Education has become entirely class-based. Today, even the cheapest private school starts at 500,000 Turkish lira. Can such a system be called education? Education must be free, as everyone already pays taxes.”
Özev emphasized that school violence cannot be resolved through security-oriented policies, as is often claimed, but only through changes in education policies. He said: “The curriculum and the overall approach to education must change. Protocols such as the Cooperation Protocol for Values Education (ÇEDES) and Vocational Training Centers, established with religious sects and communities, must be canceled. A qualified, free, scientific and democratic education system must be established. The influence of pro-government unions over education must be removed. Parents, students and education workers must raise their voices and hold those responsible accountable for the future of their children.”
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