Turkey marks Teachers’ Day

ANKARA

Turkey on Nov. 24 celebrated the national Teachers’ Day, which marks the day Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, was given the title of “Head Teacher” in 1928

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a message to mark the day, which has been celebrated in Turkey every Nov. 24 since 1981.

“We have completed the preparations to enact a Teaching Profession Law that will guarantee the rights of our teachers. I congratulate all our teachers on Nov. 24 Teachers’ Day, and I commemorate our teachers who were martyred in the line of duty and passed away to the hereafter with mercy,” he tweeted.

Erdoğan also met with teachers from all 81 provinces at the Presidential Complex on Nov. 23 on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has completed its preparations to enact a “Teaching Profession Law,” which will guarantee the rights of Turkey’s teachers, Erdoğan said, addressing the meeting.

With this law, which will come into effect after the parliamentary process, the government will provide additional financial and social rights to the teachers, whose existing rights are protected, he said.

“I hope the new perks we will provide to our teachers will be beneficial for them,” Erdoğan added.

Education Minister Mahmut Özer and 81 teachers from 81 provinces of Turkey visited Anıtkabir, Atatürk’s grand mausoleum complex in Ankara.

“It is not possible to see teaching as just a profession. While they prepare our children for the future, they also teach them national and moral values,” Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said in a statement.

The most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are the teachers, who carry the heavy burden of the process, as well as the health care workers, he added.