12,000 TL 'mandatory textbook' crisis at a school in Bağcılar
At the Mehmet Akif İnan Middle School in Bağcılar, the requirement for parents to purchase 12,000 TL worth of supplementary textbooks for English class alone has sparked significant backlash.
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During a parent-teacher meeting at the Mehmet Akif İnan Middle School in Bağcılar, Istanbul, it was announced that supplementary textbooks costing 12,000 TL were mandatory for English class alone.
Parents who reacted to the decision left the meeting. Families living on minimum wage, in particular, expressed their helplessness while opposing this practice.
One parent expressed their reaction by saying, "For a father working for minimum wage, let alone educating three children, buying books for even a single child is a mountain of a burden. Who can we tell our troubles to, who will hear our voice?"
Journalist Rojda Altıntaş brought the issue to the public agenda on social media.