The education system in Turkey towards 2023

Education Minister Ziya Selçuk has been conducting meetings with hundreds of people ever since he was appointed to the post.

The entrance to his office is always full. He attentively listens to different opinions. His door is especially open to some NGO representatives who were formerly cast out of the ministry. That is why he is organizing a workshop called “The Education System in Turkey Towards 2023” over this weekend. 

Differentiating from the circulations of people or institutions close to the government in the ministry, this time the minister has also invited bureaucrats to this meeting, which will shape education.

The meeting will be attended by more than 100 guests, comprised of more than 30 NGO representatives as well as chiefs of leading educational unions, namely Eğitim Sen (Education and Science Workers’ Union), Türk Eğitim Sen (Turkish Education Union) and Eğitim Bir Sen (Educators Trade Union) and Eğitim İş (Laborers of Education and Science).

In the meeting, many diverse topics such as the curriculum, teachers, school environment and exam systems, as well as cultural, arts and sports events will be discussed. Each title is an essential topic that everyone complains about and wishes to be fixed. Educators and experts will try to find solutions for seven problematic subjects. 

I hope the talks can also be reflected in the report called the “macro plan,” which will be announced on Oct. 15, which aims to enhance justice, productivity and sustainability in education.

These seven main subjects are:

1. What kind of curriculum do we need? What should be the main philosophy of education programs? How should the programs be determined? How should course books and materials be prepared? What should be done so the student can be educated to be happy, well-behaved and skillful? What kind of primary education and secondary education do you imagine?

2. Without neglecting traditional codes, what sort of teacher do we need in the modern world? What kinds of vocational development programs and human resource models can we prepare for our teachers?

3. What kind of a school environment do we need to constitute quality education? What should we regard for school design in terms of school architecture to minimal environments? In what kind of school and class environments should our children should be educated?

4. What kinds of precautions should be taken to remove the differences between different regions?

5. How should student selection and placement examinations be prepared? What are the suggestions for methods in terms of student placements, both for high schools and universities? How should we determine the role and the importance of exams in our education life?

6. How should we determine monitoring, evaluation, supervision and self-control mechanisms? How should we inspect our education system? How should we build a mechanism for self-control?

7. How should we include cultural, art and sports events in our education system? How should we organize extracurricular activities, hobbies and social activities for our students and our teachers? How can we inspire interest in our children for local, national or international art, culture and sports activities?