Minister of National Education Tekin: 'You tell me not to conduct interviews, I'm sorry but no'

Minister Tekin answered questions on the "Gençlerle Baş Başa" (Face to Face with Youth) program on Vav TV, moderated by Hasan Basri Karadeniz.

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin said, "I am training teachers to whom I will entrust the citizens' children, and you tell me 'Do not conduct interviews.' I'm sorry but no. My duty is to conduct an exam that is fair and just, and to employ teachers to whom we can entrust our citizens' children accordingly. No one, including myself, can interfere with the interviews."

When asked by a student about the changes made in the field of education, Tekin pointed out that decisions in education must be made with extreme caution, stating, "The decision you make can always be a subject of criticism by some; some approve, some oppose. We have two paths. One, you will do what you know to be right. It is necessary to take the right steps to raise the country's children, youth, and the future of our country soundly. The second option is to think about our own political careers and take populist steps. The kind where you would like me, saying 'Take plenty of holidays, travel, school is not important.' We chose the first one. Believe me, we are working day and night, putting in effort for you."

Explaining that the Ministry of National Education is the ministry that needs to adapt to change the fastest, Tekin noted the following:

"Children in the world no longer have trouble acquiring information; they can access information. So, does the information given to the child at school turn into a skill in daily life or not? This is what we need. And that is what we did. Now they ask us, 'Why are you changing it?' And I say, 'Are you thinking about the well-being of these children or their detriment?' Our books still make the child memorize a definition, giving them information. Giving these to them without telling them where to use them or what they are good for is not right in the age we live in."

Upon a student's question regarding teachers' adaptation to technology, Minister Tekin stated that the importance of the National Education Academy should be highlighted.

Minister Tekin continued his words as follows:

"We said, 'Let universities train scientists.' If a person who is trained says, 'I want to be a teacher,' let them take the National Education Academy's exam, and let us send them to an internship for 14 months, both theoretically and practically. Currently, they receive about 90 hours of practical training while taking formation courses, but this is an average of 400-500 hours in Western countries. With the National Education Academy, we say let universities train experts in their fields, and if they want to be a teacher, let us give them some theoretical courses and some practical training close to world averages, 400-500 hours, and then let us bring them before our children as teachers."

Responding to a student's question about whether there will be any changes to the YKS (Higher Education Institutions Examination), Tekin replied:

"There is no change on our agenda regarding the YKS, but the current questions in this YKS are based on the existing curriculum. Now, the questions for our friends who started with the Century of Turkey Education Model in the 9th grade will be based on this curriculum. This curriculum is new; a person outside, giving courses under the counter, claiming to be a teacher, does not know this. Do not let them deceive you; we provide whatever you need in our school. We are writing the textbooks anew, and the man has written a YKS book according to the Century of Turkey Education Model. There cannot be such fraud, do not believe it."

Minister Tekin pointed out that parental support is important throughout the education process, but that parents should not act as teachers.

In response to another student's question about interviews, Minister Tekin replied, "The most accurate method is for the person to whom you entrust your child from the age of 36 months to be selected through an interview. Because we see teaching as a very sacred and important profession, and because the person to whom we entrust our most important asset is a teacher, we continued with the interviews."

When asked "how possible favoritism in interviews will be prevented," Tekin noted that they invite 3 times the number of candidates to be hired, that candidates go to the interview with a code number, and that those on the commission have no information about the person.

Addressing those who say they are against interviews, Tekin expressed the following:

"I am also telling politicians, you hire a tea server for your own party, you conduct an interview. I am training teachers to whom I will entrust the citizens' children, and you tell me 'Do not conduct interviews.' I'm sorry but no. My duty is to conduct an exam that is fair and just, and to employ teachers to whom we can entrust our citizens' children accordingly. No one, including myself, can interfere with the interviews."

News Source: 12punto