CHP's pledge for teacher salaries: 'No raises for MPs until teachers' salaries catch up'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel met with teachers at the party's headquarters on the occasion of November 24, Teachers' Day. Özel announced the good news that under a CHP government, no member of parliament will receive a raise until a teacher's salary equals that of an MP.

Özel met with teachers at his party's headquarters on Teachers' Day, which is celebrated every year on November 24 to mark the date Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk received the title of Head Teacher.

Among the teachers who came to the party headquarters were Özel's own parents, who are teachers, as well as his high school teachers.

Speaking there, Özel said he was moved by the gifts given to him by his teachers while he was hosting them in his office.

Chairman Özel referred to polls showing that 4 out of every 5 people in Turkey are dissatisfied with education, and stated that they have been discussing the problems in education through rallies and summits organized by his party.

"EVERYTHING WILL BE DIFFERENT UNDER A CHP GOVERNMENT"

Stating that everything will be different from today under a CHP government, Özel said, "The right to education is so expensive that access to a good education will no longer be an opportunity available only to the children of wealthy families. Under our party's government, every young person who graduates from high school will know a foreign language at the highest level and will have a high level of competence in the use of technology. No young person will have visa problems for educational or vacation purposes. The current situation, where technology and education are so difficult, expensive, and a privilege for some, will be brought to an end."

Furthermore, Özel announced the good news that if the Republican People's Party comes to power, no member of parliament will receive a raise until a teacher's salary equals that of an MP.

Stating that the 20 thousand appointments made by the Ministry of National Education (MEB) meet only 1/5 of the expectations, Özel said, "They presented this as good news. In the situation we are facing, the teaching profession is facing the greatest attack in its history and in the history of the whole world."

10 PLEDGES FOR TEACHERS UNDER A CHP GOVERNMENT

Özel announced the rights they will provide to teachers when the CHP comes to power in the following 10 points:

"A personnel law covering all personal rights of teachers will be enacted. The Expert Head Teacher system will be abolished, and the understanding of teaching where people do the same job but work under different titles will come to an end. The politicization of education will be prevented, and anti-democratic pressures on teachers will be ended. The distinction between paid and contract teachers in the public sector will be ended, and all teachers working in the public sector will serve as permanent staff. The base salary practice will be brought back for teachers working in the private sector, it will be ensured that they receive salaries equal to teachers in the public sector, and master instructors will receive the value they deserve. The principle of merit will be re-established in the Ministry of National Education, and all administrative appointments will be made according to this principle. All protocols made with foundations and associations that are extensions of sects and communities, which pave the way for practices like ÇEDES that transfer teachers' duties, will be canceled, and teachers will be made the sole authority in schools. All teachers will be given a one-month salary bonus on November 24, Teachers' Day. To ensure teachers can live humanely, their salaries and additional course fees will be adjusted to current conditions, additional course fees will be included in the salary and reflected in retirement pensions, and it will be ensured that all teachers receive salaries above the poverty line. The education preparation allowance will be in the amount of one month's salary and will be given to all education workers, and it will be ensured that 100 thousand of the 1 million teachers who have not been appointed will be appointed within one year."

News Source: 12punto