Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, in a statement on whether the interview will be abolished in teacher appointments, said, “There is nothing like that on our agenda right now. As a minister, I am acting according to the current legal regulations.”
Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin answered journalists’ questions before the AK Party group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. In response to a question about when the legal regulation against violence against educators will come to the Parliament and its content, Tekin stated that the process has been completed bureaucratically.
“We have already announced what kind of measures we have taken”
Stating that the regulation will first come to the Parliamentary National Education Commission and then to the General Assembly, Tekin said:
“We have already explained what kind of measures we are taking. Increasing prison sentences, rejecting requests for postponement, protecting our fellow teachers in private schools… We are making legal arrangements. However, these issues cannot be solved by legal regulations alone. We need to raise social awareness together. As all our stakeholders in the sector and all segments of society, we need to raise awareness for all professions that have the potential to be exposed to violence. I especially request sensitivity on this issue.”
Upon repeating the question of when the regulation will come, Tekin said, “It will most likely come to the agenda of the commission next week. Depending on the course of the discussions there, we will see when it will come to the General Assembly agenda.”
Will the interview be abolished?
To a question about the interview, Tekin gave the following answer:
“They are missing something. According to the current situation, the interview is 100 percent effective in teacher appointments. We are reducing the effect of the interview to 50 percent, but interestingly, those who oppose the interview want to cancel this regulation. In other words, they say ‘let the interview be 100 percent effective’. There is a contradiction here and I find it hard to understand. We have published our regulation and we will run the process accordingly.” On the question of whether there is a possibility of abolishing the interview completely, Tekin said, “There is nothing like this on our agenda. As the minister, I am acting according to the existing legal regulations.”
