Educator and author Atalay Girgin: A hierarchy of nepotism forms before interviews

Although President Erdoğan promised before the elections that they would abolish interviews in teacher appointments, the interview system continues. Educator, Author, and Journalist Atalay Girgin evaluated the interview system for permanent teacher recruitment for 12.punto.com.tr. Pointing out that some candidates who want to stand out and be appointed in the interview system resort to seeking nepotism, Girgin's article is as follows:

A HIERARCHY OF NEPOTISM FORMS BEFORE INTERVIEWS

Those who introduced the interview system, those who conduct those interviews, and those who bow down and enter the interviews all know that this is not a practice for selecting teachers. Completely different criteria are sought there, beyond diplomas and KPSS success.

So, what is the interview system? The interview system is a system for selecting civil servant 'teachers', not teachers. But of course, not just any civil servant 'teacher' candidate with qualifications... Except for a small number of people who could be called exceptions, it is to select those whose references are solid and whose loyalty to "us" is certain... Every civil servant 'teacher' candidate who has earned the right to be called for an interview by getting a sufficient score to pass the determined threshold, regardless of their success ranking in their field in the KPSS, and even everyone, especially their mother and father, knows this. From that moment on, the doors of those who are influential or believed to be influential in the circle are knocked on, regardless of whether they are acquaintances or not, distant or close.

Uncles, aunts, and siblings are mobilized. If these are not enough, intermediaries who are known or believed to be more influential and authorized are brought in. Some are bowed down to, with hands clasped in submission. Promises are made to others. Nepotism is begged for and found. And in the end, a hierarchy of nepotism forms before the interview. After all, not everyone and everyone's nepotism is of the same value. Readers will remember, what did G. Orwell say in his work "Animal Farm"? All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

THERE IS NO ETHICS, NO MORAL VALUE, NO SUBLIME PURPOSE IN THIS STEP

So, why is all this done? To be able to eliminate a friend who got the same score in the KPSS, studied in the same school, sat in the same row, stayed in the same dormitory or the same house, and even believes in the same religion and has the same political and ideological understanding, thanks to the interview, to get a few steps ahead of them, or to sideline candidates who scored higher than themselves and to be appointed to the teaching, or rather the civil servant 'teaching', which they claim is sacred... For a long time, the vast majority of civil servant 'teachers' have taken this step into a profession that is described as a "prophet's profession" and is tried to be glorified and sanctified, where truthfulness, honesty, rights, and law are spoken of. There is no ethics, no moral values, no sublime purpose in this step...

WHICH TEACHER'S REPUTATION OR DISCREDITING?

The opposition, trapped within the political and legal consciousness boundaries of the order, and all kinds of education and 'teacher' 'union(ists)' engage in civil servant 'teacher' populism and cheerleading without even thinking about what is happening and its consequences. They even shamelessly talk in unison about the discrediting of teachers and the teaching profession. Which teacher? Which teacher's reputation or discrediting?

THIS IS A TABLEAU OF SHAME

In short, leaving aside all these and the grievances they create, the interview system directs civil servant 'teacher' candidates not toward rights and justice, but toward seeking privilege; it reinforces hypocrisy and insincerity; it accelerates and makes cultural decay dominant in education. This is what is happening in the education and civil servant 'teacher' community today, from the institutions and organizations at the very top to the elements at the very bottom. One of the most obvious indicators of this is that many influential and authorized people working in the education bureaucracy, and even at lower levels, and even some 'teachers' themselves, choose not to send their own children to public schools unless necessary, and prefer not to entrust them to this mass of civil servant 'teachers'. This is actually a tableau of shame. Of course, for those who have a face to be ashamed...

EVERY KIND OF PROPOSAL AND METHOD IS VOID UNDER TODAY'S CONDITIONS

As for the proposal for permanent teacher recruitment... As long as there exists an order in education and the 'teacher' community where those who are the creators, implementers, and maintainers of this picture step by step, and their masters of every kind and lineage, to whom they bow in ecstasy in front of or behind as the accident of an accident, even knowing no bounds in becoming an accident, are dominant, every kind of proposal and method that can be proposed for recruitment to civil servant 'teacher' positions is void under today's conditions. Because while everything from the management to the planning of a system that has surrendered to social disintegration and cultural decay, from the content of the courses to universities and teacher training, remains in place, even the most ideal selection methods are of no use other than looking for a solution in a swamp. So, where is the solution? What needs to be done?