Noting that they developed a new model by saving the child from the proposition "Either be an athlete or continue school." Minister Tekin stated that the volleyball high school has a serious share in the success of the women's national team today. Minister Tekin explained that the cooperation protocol was revised as there were some problems with the football high school.

 

Touching on the issue of elective courses, Tekin said that the number of courses was enriched and were divided into 3 categories. Stating that they want the child to enrich him/herself according to his/her interests and abilities through elective courses, Minister Tekin shared that the number of courses chosen from mathematics and science is 1 million 60 thousand. Noting that the number of courses selected in the field of morality and citizenship education is 587 thousand, he stated that the number of courses selected in the field of ethics and courtesy is 787 thousand.

 

Referring to the changes in regulations they made regarding education and training processes after taking the ministerial office, Minister Tekin stated that they implemented many of the measures they had put on the agenda during his time as undersecretary. Minister Tekin said that they are glad to receive positive feedback. 

 

Underlining that the number of students enrolled in open high schools has decreased significantly compared to previous years, Minister Tekin said that this situation shows that they are on the right track. 

 

Making evaluations about written exams instead of tests, Minister Tekin said that the focus of this issue is to provide strong Turkish education. Minister Tekin emphasized that Turkish education is kept in focus in the regulation to be published next week as well.

 

Emphasizing that they have been trying to find solutions to the problems in the field with a culture of consultation by listening to the teachers in the Teachers' Room Meetings, Minister Tekin stated that they made changes on the legislation in the light of the questions and criticisms received from the teachers during these interactive meetings.

 

Touching on the issue of supplementary resources, Minister Tekin stated that certain groups are carrying out a smear campaign against free textbooks distributed by the state in order to make profit. Stressing that the books they publish as the Ministry are rich enough, Minister Tekin announced that they will publish additional resources on EBA channels if students require, approved by the relevant bodies of the Ministry. Minister Tekin shared the information that they sent an official letter to schools asking them to contact the Ministry when they need supplementary resources.

 

Mentioning the issue of registration fees, Minister Tekin said that school principals do not have the authority to collect registration fees or ask for donations. Minister Tekin said that the selection of branches and teachers, especially in primary and secondary schools, will be made electronically, taking into account distributions such as the school in which the student is registered, gender and age. The Minister said that the possibility for donations will be eliminated in this way. Stating that in the circular published regarding open high school, indicated people and conditions for the exemption from going to open high school, Tekin underlined that as the Minister of National Education, the nation's expectation from him was to ensure that children of formal education age to receive face-to-face education.

 

Underlining that the right to absenteeism in high schools is 30 days in total, 10 days unexcused and 20 days excused, Minister Tekin said that the time allocated for foreign language education in Türkiye is almost twice the OECD average. Stating that the student should learn to express himself/herself comfortably in Turkish, in terms of speaking, writing and listening before receiving foreign language education, Minister Tekin noted that they want to implement a new projection regarding foreign language education. He clarified that foreign languages do not only consist of English, but also consist of German, Russian and Chinese.

 

Answering a question about the Football Development Project signed with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Turkish Football Federation, Minister Yusuf Tekin drew attention to the project schools implemented in 2014. Stating that many meetings were held to ensure that the curriculum of football high schools, vocational high schools and fine arts high schools coincided with the needs in the field, and teachers to be able to follow practical developments, Minister Tekin said they have successfully designed and implemented a new model for football high schools together with Fatih Terim in the manner that the curriculum was prepared by Turkish Football Federation, while academic courses were under the responsibility of the Ministry. 

 

Underlining that most successful students in the 1 percent success rate prefer vocational high schools, Minister Tekin asked parents to encourage their children to attend vocational high schools. Emphasizing that the education and training process in vocational high schools has developed considerably in theoretical and practical terms, as it is obvious in events such as TEKNOFEST. Minister Tekin underlined that vocational high schools promise a very good future for students.

 

Expressing that he does not agree with the criticism that too many changes have been made in the education system, Minister Tekin pointed out that education is a dynamic sector that must constantly improve itself. Minister Tekin emphasized that they have come a long way in the education process taking into account the statistics and OECD averages.

 

Drawing attention to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's definition of "obligations arise from duty", Minister Tekin underlined that they put education at the core of everything. Stating that the selection mechanism should be analyzed well in order to employ a good teacher, Minister Tekin said that they should establish better knowledge in the academic field. Noting that another point the President is most sensitive about is justice, Minister Tekin touched upon the importance of creating a fair, objective and transparent interview mechanism that will resolve complaints and criticisms.

 

Underlining that they should appoint teachers in accordance with the current legislation, Minister Tekin reminded them that they have to fulfill their responsibilities by taking measures that are fair, transparent and take into account public criticism in accordance with the legislation. In light of all these, Tekin explained that they reduced the impact of the interview to 50 percent since they think it is unfair to make an appointment based only on the interview score.

 

Stating that they guarantee the uneasy segment in terms of justice and transparency, Minister Tekin said that while creating the commissions, they decided to establish an interview commission consisting of experienced people who are knowledgeable in the field. Minister Tekin underlined that in order to ensure justice, they ensured that the candidate would not have any information about his own jury, thus preventing the conspiracy mechanism, and that the commission members would not have any information about the candidate.

 

Sharing the information that camera recording will also be made in order to manage the objection process, the Minister underlined that they do not want to be unfair. Stating that they are open to suggestions for precautions regarding the process, Minister Tekin said that they can take these suggestions into account and add them to the legislation.

 

Tekin noted that four headings will be evaluated in the interviews: lecturing, communication, problem solving and ability to convey attitudes and values. Tekin expressed that the grades of teacher candidates will be revealed in a fair and transparent manner with concrete indicators.

 

Providing information about the procedure, Minister Tekin said that the need for teachers is defined in the regulation on norm staff. Minister Tekin stated that according to the norm calculation, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance proportioned the positions defined by the Ministry of National Education to employ. He added that they would invite three times more candidates from the number of teachers obtained a required KPSS (Public Personnel Selection Examination) score for an oral interview. Minister Tekin said that there is no interview mechanism for the contracted teachers.

 

Stating that they are in contact with private school representatives regarding the fee policies in private schools, Minister Tekin said that they have made the mechanism comfortable for them by taking into account the issues they complain about, such as the fees for education, food, stationery and books in schools as well as the low probability of the production paid to teachers. Noting that they increased the education fees in private schools based on the WPI-CPI ratio, Minister Tekin said that they will follow the situation in private schools.

 

Pointing out that the Ministry made intense efforts to overcome the education process with the least damage after the February 6 earthquakes, Minister Tekin stated that they also made efforts to eliminate the physical damage and the problems of students and teachers in the region. Expressing that they are trying to solve the problem of around 11 thousand damaged classrooms with steel structures and prefabricated schools, Minister Tekin said that as an additional measure, they slightly increased the existing capacities of the schools and enabled the education process to start smoothly by introducing dual education. With the instructions of Mr. President Erdoğan announced that they will take measures to meet the need for classrooms until the academic year, Minister Tekin said that the needs related to physical infrastructure will be completed over time. Reminding that they opened an additional quota for 2 earthquake-affected students in each branch of schools in Türkiye, Tekin explained that they provided facilities for teachers' relocation and took encouraging steps by increasing the service points for those who want to work in the region. Minister Tekin stated that the housing and accommodation needs of newly appointed teachers to the region were met and 11 thousand containers were provided with the coordination of AFAD and the Ministry of Interior. Underlining that they started make-up training to compensate for the losses students experienced during the education process, Minister Tekin reminded them that they opened non-formal education courses for citizens.

 

Pointing out that all of the schools destroyed in the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes were built before the legislation enacted after the 1999 earthquake occurred in Gölcük, Minister Tekin said that most of the unused village schools were demolished.

 

Conveying his messages to teachers, students and parents, Minister Tekin asked teachers to communicate with the Ministry of National Education through official channels. Thanking the teachers for their sacrifices, Minister Tekin asked the students to understand that the arrangements made were made for their own good. Expressing that they are trying to do their part to raise the students as more useful individuals for this country, Asking parents to do their part as parents, Minister Tekin wanted parents to trust and support teachers and leave the teaching part them.