Yusuf Tekin responds to İmamoğlu's daycare remarks

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu reacted sharply to the instruction issued by the Ministry of National Education for the closure of daycares belonging to municipalities.

Stating, "Your letter means nothing to us," İmamoğlu said, "Our daycares defeated your Kanal Istanbul. Come on, close them if you dare. I am waiting if you have the courage."

A response to İmamoğlu's words came from Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin.

Speaking on A Haber, Tekin said, "I truly feel sorry for Özgür Özel. He is caught in manipulation within his own political party. The essence of the matter is this: The letter we sent to the municipalities is not about daycares; it cannot be about daycares. Daycares are outside the scope of our ministry's authority and responsibility. We are in no position to tell any municipality to close a daycare or to open one according to a certain criterion. They are saying this to manipulate the public; they are lying."

'WE HAVE NO SUCH LETTER'

"When we write a letter, we do not write it based on whether it is CHP or another party," said Tekin, adding, "We write a letter based on the content of the legislation. We have no letter regarding daycares. The letter we are referring to is about kindergartens and nursery classes."

'THEIR REPUTATION IN THE PUBLIC EYE IS BEING DAMAGED'

"This text is the application made by the CHP to the Constitutional Court to have the right granted to municipalities to open nursery classes or kindergartens cancelled," he said, continuing as follows:

"It is stated that municipalities cannot and should not open kindergartens. The relevant article of the Municipality Law was cancelled in 2007. Since the cancellation decision, our ministry has not granted any municipality the authority to open a kindergarten. That is why I say that either Özel or İmamoğlu do not know what their own parties are doing, or they have not understood what they read. Or they understood what they read but found it appropriate to lie for their own political gain because it did not suit them. Or perhaps the CHP has become a victim of the political infighting within itself. By providing such false information, their reputation in the public eye is being damaged.

THIS IS NOT A NEW PRACTICE

In our letter, there is nothing about closing daycares. We are saying that municipalities cannot open kindergartens or nursery classes; this is not a newly implemented situation. These have been opened, and we inspect them as complaints reach us. We close the schools by saying you do not have such a right legally. We are doing the same thing now.

One of the justifications for the CHP's relevant cancellation lawsuit is that municipalities can build such schools and transfer them to the Ministry of National Education. We have no problem with that. They can build schools and transfer them to us. They are misinforming the public; in this regard, we have fulfilled our duty entirely as required by law and wrote our letter. Our official letter is here.

Citing the Constitutional Court decision, there is no authority to open a nursery class. The CHP interprets the law according to itself; I felt sorry that he used such an expression. We solve the problems of our students and parents. We do not victimize anyone. Children over 36 months are within our scope.

The inspection authority of the Ministry of National Education, the physical infrastructure of this school, and the teachers are all under the supervision of our ministry. They are doing something contrary to the law. Just as there are other concepts in the tradition of Ekrem İmamoğlu or the CHP, they interpret them according to their own perspectives. İmamoğlu's statement is also something like that."

News Source: 12punto