Minister Tekin expressed his pleasure to host the Education Institute, one of the three main specialized institutions of the Economic Cooperation Organization as it provides the opportunity to contribute to the education of young people in the member states, in Ankara.

 

Stating that both the hosting status of Türkiye and diplomatic status of the Education Institute gained a formal and legal basis with the Host Country Agreement signed between the ECOEI and the Republic of Türkiye on July 23, 2020 and entered into force on May 6, 2022, Tekin said that it is their greatest wish to provide the appropriate ground for the activities of the institute to be more efficient and to increase the cooperation between member countries on education.

 

Stating that the most effective way to build more peaceful, prosperous and developed societies is to raise young generations who have acquired social and emotional skills and common values, Tekin said that the main purpose of education is to help people realize their potential by raising them in the best way. Stating that education plays an indispensable role in the construction of a bright future not only for individuals but also for societies, Minister Tekin emphasized that education systems that provide the necessary qualifications for the business environment, enable easy transition from school to employment, provide higher education and research opportunities, and develop these skills within the framework of lifelong learning are the most important tools to reach more prosperous societies.

 

Pointing out that the fact that education has a strong connection with development is one of the important elements that shape the main philosophy of the organization, Minister Tekin said that the education institute was designed to carry out strategic studies to strengthen and develop the education systems of the member countries. Reaffirming that one of the main objectives is to address and solve the difficulties experienced in the field of education with the contributions of valuable educators and academicians, Minister Tekin stated that the projects and studies carried out within the Institute are aimed at increasing the quality of education, implementing education policies more effectively and raising the qualifications of teachers. Minister Tekin said that this will lead to a significant transformation and progress in the education systems of the member countries.

 

Underlining that serious progress has been made in Türkiye in terms of access to education, quality and quantity of education since the early 2000s, Tekin said that despite the global problems such as the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, very serious developments in the field of education in Türkiye has been achieved.

 

Reminding that Türkiye has hosted more than 3.5 million Syrians, including 1.2 million children, for the last 12 years, Tekin said that they did their best to ensure that these children participate in education and training processes. Tekin stressed that Türkiye is the country with the highest number of refugee students in the world.

 

Minister Tekin said that despite all these negativities, Türkiye's acceleration in the field of education is admirable when taking the negative consequences of the February 6 earthquake disaster centered in Kahramanmaraş and hit 11 provinces.

 

Stating that the basic policies aiming to increase access to education services in our country cover a wide audience from pre-school to higher education and that the numerical data in terms of schooling has increased, Tekin stated that the rate of being included in the education process among students at the age of compulsory education in Türkiye is approaching to 100 percent. Expressing that almost all of the students in every age group are included in the 12-year compulsory education process, Tekin emphasized that this is a very important success.

 

Minister Tekin emphasized that Türkiye's success rankings are increasing day by day, especially in the data of international rating mechanisms such as PISA and TIMMS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study).

 

Pointing out that Türkiye is one of the countries with the youngest population in terms of population ratios in the world, Tekin stated that they also attach great importance to the career acquisition process of young people who have completed the compulsory education age. Tekin noted that approximately 36 percent of the 17 year old age group who have completed compulsory education were enrolled in vocational education programs.

 

Stating that the ratio of vocational high schools among secondary education institutions is close to 50 percent, Minister Tekin said that they are trying to meet the intermediate staff needs of the sector with the support they provide in terms of internship and workplace training, especially for senior students.

 

Emphasizing that they make serious efforts in terms of teachers' professional development, Minister Tekin said that they have increased the qualifications of teachers both through in-service training processes and through the Teacher Information Network, where electronic in-service trainings can be made. Informing that approximately 700 thousand teachers have been employed within the Ministry in the last 20 years, Minister Tekin noted that there are approximately 1 million 100 thousand teachers in total.

 

Stating that they use interactive whiteboards in nearly 700 thousand classrooms in Türkiye within the scope of the Fatih Project, which they continue to ensure equality of opportunity in education, Minister Tekin said that they allow children to use the information infrastructure in the education process. Tekin also noted that even a state school in the farthest corner could have the opportunity to receive education through the informatics network called Education Information Network (EBA) thanks to the Fatih project.

 

Minister of National Education Tekin stated that they are trying to fulfill all their responsibilities in order to enable the institute to efficiently continue its activities and studies.

 

Tekin said that in order for the economic cooperation process to continue in a healthy way, the member countries within the institute should have a dream of building an education system that can create different rating mechanisms. He stated that studies that can lead to joint diploma programs in the long term should already be on the agenda.

 

Stating that one of the important conditions for the realization of all dreams, wishes and hopes is that each member country fulfills its responsibilities, Minister Tekin said that both the legal dimension of the process, that is, the signature processes in their own countries, will be completed as soon as possible and that the member countries He said he believes he will fulfill his financial responsibilities regarding the institute.

 

Tekin wished the meeting to be beneficial and wished to share good examples in education and to develop mutual cooperation.

 

The President of the ECOEI Prof. Dr. Mehmet Akif Kireçci and The Secretary General of ECO Ambassador Khusrav Noziri also gave speeches in the program

 

The meeting continued closed to the press to discuss the agenda topics.

 

In addition to Türkiye, ministers of education and country representatives of Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Iran, which are members of the Economic Cooperation Organization, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is an observer member country, attended the meeting.