Protests by high school students have spread across Turkey following an April 8th decision to dismiss and reappoint teachers at over 30 schools. The protests follow a wave of demonstrations and boycotts across the country since the March 19th detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
 |
On Monday (April 14), major protests took place at high schools in Istanbul’s Kadıköy and Beşiktaş districts, as well as in Ankara and İzmir. In some high schools, students gathered in groups in their school courtyards, refusing to attend their classes in protest of their teachers’ dismissals.
- Turkey: Media blackout over İmamoglu protests
- Swedish journalist Joakim Medin arrested in Turkey amid protests
- Turkish government attempts crackdown as opposition-led boycott expands
On Monday evening, a major demonstration of high school students took place at Beşiktaş’ central square. Several students who spoke to Medyascope cited government interference in their schools’ faculty and the ongoing erosion of democratic rights and rule of law in Turkey as reasons for their protest.
Project schools
The high schools affected by the faculty changes are known as ‘project schools,’ a group of over 30 elite high schools across Turkey offering specialized programs in diverse areas including sports, computer science, social sciences, and engineering. These schools employ approximately 89,000 teachers, of whom around 20,000 are affected by last week’s change.
- Turkey’s opposition presidential candidate detained
- İmamoğlu investigation: What we know so far
- Istanbul Stock Exchange introduces temporary measures following jailing of Istanbul mayor
Following the April 8th change, these 20,000 teachers were forced to reapply for placement at ‘project schools’. 6000 of these teachers are expected not to be reappointed and dismissed. Nearly 1500 of those dismissed are employed at high schools in Istanbul.
A 2020 change by the Ministry of Education shortened the contract length for teachers in these schools from 15 years to only eight.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
