Minister of National Education Özer announced that all disabled teachers who applied will be appointed. He stated that 4,300 teachers applied and that today 3,500 appointments were completed, adding that the remaining disabled teachers will also be appointed. You can find more details of Özer’s remarks in the rest of the article.
Transformations in Education
Speaking at the MEB Council Hall during the ceremony where 3,500 disabled teachers were appointed—an event attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan—Minister Özer said that revolutionary changes have been made in education over the past 20 years. He noted that OECD countries had raised enrollment rates across all levels of education to around 90% or higher since the end of World War II, and added that Turkey had lagged behind at the start of the 2000s. He recalled that preschool enrollment at age five was only 11% and secondary education enrollment was 44%, meaning half of the high-school-age population was out of school.
Özer emphasized that, under President Erdoğan’s leadership, an education mobilization brought large-scale investments to all provinces and 920 districts without regional distinctions. He said that many undemocratic practices blocking access to education were eliminated during this period, and continued:
“In this country, bans on headscarves were among the greatest barriers to education. Our girls faced intense pressure at university gates from police or were subjected to ‘persuasion rooms’ by administrations to remove their headscarves. Those who speak about women’s rights today did not speak then. Those who now raise concerns about brain drain did not consider it a brain drain when people who could not access education because of headscarf bans left the country. Removing the headscarf ban was not the only change. The coefficient system, which had damaged imam hatip and vocational high schools, was enforced for 12 years. That discriminatory practice was lifted during your administrations, and imam hatip schools continued their development. Vocational schools also resumed their role in training qualified labor for the workforce.”
Education Policies Worth 525 Billion TL
Özer said everything possible had been done to ensure equal opportunities in education: textbooks and supplementary materials are distributed free, transportation provides access to schools at no cost, and today 5 million students receive a hot meal at school each day free of charge. He reported that social policies in education over the past 20 years amount to 525 billion Turkish lira at today’s exchange rate.
He noted that preschool enrollment rose from 11% to 99.86%, secondary education from 44% to 99.12%, and higher education from 14% to above the 50% mark. Özer emphasized that without these investments over the last 20 years, the vision of a “Century of Turkey” would have remained a dream. He said the investments of the past two decades have addressed many shortcomings of the Republic’s first century and stated that this contribution will not be forgotten.
Teachers’ Great Effort During COVID and the Earthquakes
Özer explained that teacher recruitment accompanied improved access to education. More than 800,000 teacher appointments were made in the last 20 years, increasing the teaching workforce from around 500,000 to 1.2 million. He cited OECD reports noting that no other country has expanded student numbers while reducing students per teacher at the same scale.
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He expressed gratitude to all teachers for their contributions and welcomed the newly appointed disabled teachers, saying, “Welcome to our education community.” He stressed that today’s appointments strengthen the profession. Reflecting on the past two years, he noted that the country experienced two major traumas: the COVID-19 pandemic and the earthquakes on February 6. He said:
“During the pandemic, teachers risked their lives to deliver essential supplies through volunteer groups. Our vocational high schools produced masks, disinfectants and face shields and provided these to citizens free of charge. As Necip Fazıl describes a youth that answers ‘Who’s there?’ with ‘I am’ without looking left or right, our teaching force responded the same during the February 6 earthquakes. In ten provinces, teachers immediately mobilized to help: they cooked meals, baked bread, organized and sorted incoming aid, continued education in tents and contributed to organizing the temporary settlements. They remain active in those areas. I offer my heartfelt thanks to all teachers who acted selflessly in those extraordinary times. With your leadership, we will continue to walk the path opened in the Century of Turkey together with the entire education community.”
All 4,300 Disabled Teachers Will Be Appointed
At the end of the program, Minister Özer returned to the subject of disabled teacher appointments and shared the good news announced by President Erdoğan. Özer said: “Our President gives a piece of good news: 4,300 disabled teachers applied for appointment. Today we have completed 3,500 appointments; we will appoint the remaining disabled teachers as well. We express our gratitude to the President on behalf of all disabled teacher candidates.”