Education Minister Yusuf Tekin on NTV: the Turgutlu attack, school security, PISA and private school fees

The Turgutlu attack: “It should not be read only through school security”

How do you assess the gun attack in Turgutlu, Manisa? Did it take place at the school?

The attack took place not inside İnci Üzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School but near the school. Very comprehensive measures have been taken in schools.

The attacker used a gun he took from home. Just as there are warnings to keep medicines where children cannot reach them, these guns must be kept where children cannot get to them.

This attack should not be read solely and exclusively through school security, policing and the like.

In his first statement the attacker spoke of peer bullying. How do you respond to that claim?

The child had not yet been to school long enough to experience what we call peer bullying. He had just enrolled in the ninth grade. Because of absenteeism, he had attended for only two or three days.

A call to parents: “Who children are messaging should be monitored”

What is your message to families about the effect of social media on children?

Who our children are messaging should be monitored, both in the chat spaces behind gaming sites and on social media platforms.

The suspect in Turgutlu also left various clues in his social media messages. Why would a child make the photo of an attacker from a school shooting in the US his own profile picture? A mother and father need to follow this and see it.

What should parents do when they notice such signs?

Since April 15 we have been working on this with our guidance counsellors. My plea to parents is that when they see this kind of troubling situation, they share it with our guidance counsellors. Our teachers will do what is necessary for these children.

Physical measures at schools

What physical security measures have been taken at schools?

For all schools in Türkiye, we drew up a list of parameters by assessing each school's socio-economic setting and physical location. We categorised every one of our schools according to its situation.

In each of our schools, connections have been made from indoor camera systems to cameras around the building. We launched a series of measures suited to each school, such as turnstiles, facial recognition systems in some schools, hand-held detectors for staff and emergency buttons.

Depending on the building, the measures range from raising garden walls to installing turnstiles at the gates of schools that need them. All of these are measures we have taken in line with the assessments of the security forces.

PISA: “Being in the top 15 does not satisfy me”

Türkiye has moved up in PISA. What do you attribute this rise to?

We were not in the top 30. It is not right to say we suddenly made a leap from 2022 to 2025. Starting in 2003, very serious improvements were made first to the physical and technological infrastructure of our schools. Classes of 70–80 pupils were brought down to the OECD average. In terms of the physical quality of schools, we are now above international benchmarks.

Another issue is equal opportunity, from school transport to increasing the boarding capacity of our schools. Think of it this way: in 2003 the high-school enrolment rate was 51 percent; now it is above 90 percent. There is no longer a problem with access to education. We have come a very long way from schools without teachers.

This is not enough for us. Being in the top 15 among OECD countries does not satisfy me. But the good thing is this: while OECD countries and all other countries saw a radical decline in the three areas PISA measures, it matters that we were the only country to raise its score.

12-year schooling and private school fees

Is shortening 12-year compulsory education on the agenda?

The work on this has been opened up for debate. We are looking at the reports written on the subject. Our concern here is not for our children to be kept away from school, but for them to receive more effective education. It is now possible to create an environment in which our children can access far more quickly what we give them over a 12-year period.

Private school fees are a burden on parents. What is the ministry doing?

We have 12,500 private schools. Among them, 84 charge fees above 1.5 million liras. Fourteen of those are kindergartens.

We assign every student to a school. Citizens are not obliged to send their children to private school. We link every child to the state school nearest to their home.

We monitor private schools' prices and we absolutely do not allow exorbitant fees. Private school representatives are also very sensitive about this. We also carry out inspections against exorbitant prices for uniforms, meals and stationery.