Student nutrition issues in Turkey ignored in MEB's summary of PISA 2022 report

The Ministry of National Education (MEB) omitted the data stating that "19 out of every 100 students in Turkey go to class hungry at least once a week" in its summary of the 491-page PISA report.

700 thousand students from 81 countries, representing 29 million students, were evaluated by PISA. The PISA 2022 report, which measures mathematics, science, and reading skills, has been published. Although the MEB announced that Turkey increased its scores, the country remained below the OECD average in mathematics, science, and reading. The Ministry of National Education summarized the 491-page OECD PISA report into 191 pages. The summary did not include the striking statements found in the report.

In a report by Sultan Uçak in the Sözcü newspaper, it is noted that the Turkish translation of the words of OECD Director for Education and Skills and PISA, Andreas Schleicher, who said, "The goal of PISA is to help schools and politicians, to enable politicians to make informed decisions," is incomplete. In the unpublished section of the PISA 2022 Report, Schleicher called on governments to support their education systems and cope with learning difficulties.

In the section titled "Are they too hungry to learn?", Schleicher stated that 8 percent of students in OECD countries could not eat at least once a week within 30 days because they did not have the money to buy food. Pointing out that this rate is 19 percent in Turkey, he stated that a free school lunch program could enable more children to participate in education.

These important statements were not included in the summary report published by the Ministry of National Education.

The Ministry did not make a statement regarding the matter.