Minister Yusuf Tekin, in his speech at the summit, stated that education is the most powerful instrument for national economic growth and sustainable development.

 

Highlighting the role of robust vocational education in preparing students for employment, enhancing vocational skills, and addressing the needs of the economic job market, Tekin said, "The right of all children and young people worldwide to access quality education is a universal value. As the Ministry, we are mobilizing all our resources to ensure that this right, which elevates and dignifies humanity, reaches our 20 million students entrusted to us by our nation in a fair manner."

 

Tekin explained that over the past twenty-one years, they have allocated the largest share of the general budget to education annually. He emphasized that they doubled the number of classrooms and teachers from the Republican era until 2002, equipped schools with modern technological innovations, and revised the curriculum with a liberal and innovative approach while improving teachers' financial and personal rights.

 

Emphasizing the need to continuously envision and design better and more beautiful things in the field of education, Tekin said, "We will undoubtedly strive to do better, but we also need to do justice. Regarding physical learning environments, Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) implemented by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was published earlier this week. Türkiye's physical and social learning environments are currently better than the OECD average. I wanted to share this information because there is much criticism."

 

"We introduced the concept of project schools in 2014"

Minister Tekin noted that education went through a period before 2002 where it was instrumentalized for political purposes, especially vocational education was discredited, and it was left in a neglected and dilapidated state. He stated that this regression weakened the connection between education, production, and employment, revealing the need for qualified personnel in the sector.

 

To overcome this situation that has long occupied the education agenda, Tekin emphasized that they took comprehensive and systematic steps at every level of education. In this context, he mentioned that they introduced the concept of project schools in 2014.

 

Indicating that their interactions with the industry began during these periods, Tekin explained, "We implemented project schools to address criticisms such as the curriculum applied in vocational high schools not meeting the sector's needs, the teaching staff not meeting the personnel needs in this regard, and problems in the student admission process."

 

Tekin stated that they considered the industry's three demands while establishing project schools, highlighting that they collaborated with the sector in developing the curriculum, added individuals familiar with the sector and who closely follow developments to the teaching staff, regardless of their titles.

 

Tekin expressed that this step they took was revolutionary in vocational education in Türkiye, and he noted that the international community is also following their work.

 

"We turned vocational training centers into a part of compulsory education"

Referring to his recent visit to Athens, Tekin recalled that they signed an international agreement with the Greek Ministry of Education. Tekin mentioned that his Greek counterpart told him, "Share with us the revolutionary steps you have taken in vocational and technical education; let's do it together."

 

Tekin stated that they would carry out similar studies in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan in the coming days. Acknowledging some problems during this process, Tekin pointed out that the sector is somewhat hesitant to pay students who do not contribute enough yet, some students undergoing workplace accidents during internships in collaborating schools, and contracting occupational diseases.