Visiting the Governorship of Kocaeli, Minister Tekin attended the provincial education evaluation meeting held there and made a statement after the closed- door meeting.

 

Touching upon Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip, Minister Tekin said that international organizations responsible for protecting basic human rights and legal principles have failed the test of humanity.

 

Tekin stated that the preferences of the people who manage these institutions are either political or ideological. Noting that there is a problem with the texts to which these people are subject, the Minister advised that the political order in the world should be reviewed.

 

Explaining that he traveled from province to province in Türkiye after taking over the Ministerial position, Tekin said that as the Ministry of National Education, they may not properly manage the organization with central decisions taken without considering the local. Stating that they are responsible for their physical infrastructure, human resources portfolio and the content of education, the Minister said that they try to make decisions by consulting with teachers who carry the burden of the Ministry in the field and with governors, mayors and politicians.

 

Stating that education services were provided in approximately 360 thousand public and private classrooms in Türkiye 21 years ago, Tekin noted that there are approximately 750 thousand public and private classrooms today and the number of existing classrooms has doubled in the last 21 years.

 

Pointing out that this is an important success criteria, Tekin said that they provide education and training services with approximately 1 million 200 thousand teachers. Noting that they provide education and training services with two times more teacher capacity in terms of human resources portfolio which is also reflected in international reports. Minister expressed that these reports indicate that Türkiye has provided physical infrastructure and human resources to meet world standards and world averages in 21 years.

 

Noting that the number of teachers in Kocaeli increased from 9 thousand 700 hundred to 30 thousand and the number of students increased from 270 thousand to 510 thousand, Minister Tekin shared that the number of schools, which was 497, excluding those to be tendered and included in the investment program and under construction has increased to 1586. He noted that the number of classrooms has increased from 6 thousand 700 to 18 thousand 525.

 

Underlining that it is necessary to act by seeing what has been done, Minister Tekin said that the number of students per classroom in Kocaeli, which was over 30 in the 2000s, is around 22-23 today. Minister Tekin shared the information that the number of students per teacher is 18 in primary school, 15 in secondary school and 12 in secondary education.

 

Emphasizing that earthquake inspections of school buildings were carried out, Tekin said that the schools that needed to be strengthened were included in the strengthening program and the majority of them were strengthened. Stating that a demolition decision was made for some of the schools that need to be rebuilt, Minister Tekin said that some of them were rebuilt and some of them will be evaluated in the next investment program.

 

Stating that there are institutions and people from whom they expect the support and contribution of the Ministry, Minister Tekin said that the society and all parents and families are their biggest supporters. Underlining that 'family' is at the center of discussions about quality in education and training, Minister Tekin warned that if the education and training process is not supported in the family, the education and training process will be limited to the school which results in failure.

 

Inviting the society and families to support them, Tekin emphasized that much more successful results will be achieved in education and training.

 

Stating that he attaches great importance to the support of local governments, Tekin drew attention to the existence of municipalities that do not allocate the necessary share for education and training, do not cooperate with the ministry on this issue, do not assist the ministry with zoning and land production, and collect the fee for the services they provide from educational institutions. Stating that they are happy to work with municipalities that support the education and training process, Minister Tekin said that the education and training process should be considered above politics and all municipalities should support the ministry.

 

Tekin then visited Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality and received information about the works carried out in the city.

 

Visiting Kocaeli Derince Çınarlı Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Minister Tekin chatted with teachers and students and participated in educational activities. Tekin inspected the Soilless Agriculture R&D Production Greenhouse, which was established in the school garden with the support of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality.