Education Entrepreneurs of world meet in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The difference between state and private schools is one of the education problems in Turkey, according to experts. DHA photo

The World Education Entrepreneurs Society held its first meeting at the Ceylan Hotel in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Dec. 5 to discuss contemporary education problems in Turkey.

“It would be impossible for us to catch up with the requirements of our day or even to realize our EU goals, merely [by providing] routine education,” Muammer Yıldız, Istanbul’s provincial director of education, said during his opening speech.

Istanbul is receiving an excessive number of immigrants from the country’s east, Yıldız said, adding that this resulted in overpopulated classrooms.

Enver Yücel, co-president of the Bahçeşehir Uğur Education Institutions, affirmed Yıldız’s comments and said it would be wrong to merely expect the state to do everything.

Only the children of affluent families can afford to take advantage of private schools, Yücel said. “Private schools ought not to be a club for rich families’ kids.”

The World Education Entrepreneurs Society would be based in Lausanne, Switzerland, but one of the institution’s centers was going to be set up in Istanbul, he said.

“Teachers can no longer just sit around in classrooms. Technology is progressing. Fast and new opportunities ought to be created for kids,” said Gene Edelman, head of U.S.-based Mosaica Education.
Education has now transformed into an industry, he said