Education term to be extended to 200 days... “The Ministry ignores the real problems of education”

The Ministry of National Education (MEB) is working on increasing the current 180-day school year. Work has begun to create a calendar where students will attend school for 200 days a year. Education unions have reacted to the Ministry's new practice.

Eğitim-İş General President Kadem Özbay emphasized that the Ministry ignores the real problems of education. Regarding the extension of the education period from 180 to 200 days despite students' financial difficulties, he said:

“The Ministry of National Education is once again acting with a ‘I did it, so it is done’ mentality instead of consulting education experts and producing solutions to the collapse. The real problems in education continue to be ignored. Even when the education period is 180 days, our children face very serious absenteeism problems. Poverty emerges as the cause of this absenteeism. There are thousands of our children who cannot get to school because they don't have bus fare or who are at their workplaces because they are forced to work,” he said.

Stating that the issue should be handled from two aspects, Özbay said, “First, there is the pedagogical aspect, and second, there is the socio-economic aspect. From a pedagogical perspective, it is also debated globally; children may experience learning losses when holiday periods are too long.

But we must now see this; what we call education is not just a process of transferring lessons within four walls at school. We must now make educational environments suitable for our children's social and emotional development as well. In other words, rather than loading more lesson hours, an educational environment that supports our children's emotional and physical development should be created. The education period can be extended, but it depends on what we put into it and what we extend it with,” he said.

Stating that the government has effectively occupied the educational environment, Özbay spoke as follows:

“Today, the political power has a de facto occupation of the educational environment. What is this de facto occupation? We see either the Presidency of Religious Affairs or the so-called foundations, associations, sects, and communities. If your goal in increasing the education period is actually to expose our children to these more, that is already a disaster. But if your purpose in increasing the duration is to reduce children's learning losses, to ensure that intermediate repetitions are made by teachers who are experts in this field, and to include lessons like art, sports, and philosophy that you go to outside of school, and to ensure the child's development with these, then this is not something to say no to in a pedagogical sense.

One must see this; even in 180 days, our children have problems attending school and cannot secure their most basic need, the right to nutrition. As long as such problems persist, when you increase the school period, you will actually have children you bring to school and leave hungry, and children you cannot provide transportation for. We should approach the issue from this perspective.”

Stating that he has suspicions that the political power aims to achieve a cultural hegemony transformation through education, Özbay said, “Are they trying to pull our children into an environment of pressure where a single religion and sect are imposed, or are they acting from a pedagogical perspective? If they are acting from a pedagogical perspective, as I said, holiday periods should be arranged to be more suitable for rest periods in terms of learning losses. One must also look at this; there is also the parents' side of this business. From a pedagogical point of view, intermediate breaks sound nice. But if the parent does not have the opportunity to adjust their leave period, who will take care of this child?” he expressed.

MESEM CANNOT BE A PART OF COMPULSORY EDUCATION

Özbay answered questions about the MESEM project as follows:

“MESEM cannot be a formal education model. It is the state's fundamental duty to ensure the education of children under 18, as we define in our Constitution and accept internationally. This education takes place at school, under the supervision of teachers. If the state has failed to bring a child who has dropped out of school, been involved in crime, or has health problems to school, then when that individual exceeds the age of 18 and wants to receive a certificate in a profession, institutions like MESEM exist. But MESEM cannot be a part of compulsory education. This is a legal cover for child labor. Unfortunately, the state sees our children, whom it should keep in school, as cheap labor. This is a constitutional violation.

The child's right to education is being usurped. In other words, the state, which should provide education to the child, is taking away the child's right to education. Is it education to come to school one day? On that one day, they give two hours of religious instruction. There is really no education involved. It has also turned into a method of transferring public resources to capital, that is, siphoning them off. Why do I say this? Because the resources that the public would allocate to our citizens who become unemployed through the unemployment fund are being transferred to capital. Half of the minimum wage for children registered through MESEM is transferred to these institutions by the state, through the state's fund. It is said; ‘I gave half of the minimum wage, you take the child and make them work here.’ Therefore, there is a handout here, there is child labor, there is the usurpation of the right to education. MESEMs that are within formal education should be closed, they should not exist. For adults who have not completed their education process or want to receive different training, the MESEM system should be a form of non-formal education, like in a public education model.”

THERE IS ALREADY AN INTENSE CURRICULUM

Eğitim-Sen Istanbul Branch President Barış Uluocak emphasized that the Ministry does not carry out its work collectively. Stating that they are already working with an intense curriculum, Uluocak said:

“The MEB does not carry out such work collectively. I do not know on what study it bases the increase in working days. As far as I know, it is currently just a rumor. When the content is announced, we will understand why they are doing such a thing. We are working with a quite intense curriculum. That's why I couldn't understand the reason.”

THE PROJECT ITSELF IS PROBLEMATIC

Uluocak also said the following about the MESEM project:

‘’The MESEM project emerged by making changes through various laws. In December 2021, a change was made in the vocational education law. The number of students, which was around 120 thousand at that time, approached 1.3 million with incentives for employers. These children go to the workplace 4 days a week. They come to school one day a week. They do not receive a proper academic education. But at the end of this process, they are given a high school diploma. Children work in extremely poor conditions. Since September, 8 of our students have lost their lives in workplace homicides. They are employed in insecure environments for very low wages. A free labor force is being provided. It is not correct to call it cheap labor. People at a child's age are forced to work here. After the recent deaths, the MEB wanted this to be seen as an occupational safety problem and for various meetings to be held. Various letters were sent to schools, but beyond this being an occupational safety issue, the project itself is problematic. We advocate for the stopping and closing of the MESEM project and for children to receive academic education. There is no part of this that can be repaired.’’