Government considers additional requirements for teachers' qualifications

A draft bill on changes to the education system was presented to the Turkish parliament that calls for teachers to teach at least one year before they are tenured and require teachers not to be subject to any disciplinary action in order to be tenured.

The legislation mandates that after a performance assessment by the Ministry of National Education, teachers will sit in a written and oral exam. If the teacher passes the exams, he or she will be granted tenure. If the teacher fails, he or she will be reassigned to another city and will wait for one year to sit another exam. After failing the exams twice, the applicant will be not be eligible to apply for teaching posts again.

Under the current system, teachers can be tenured if they pass the Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS).

The new system, which will also include an internship program for teachers, aims to improve the qualifications of teachers as part of an initiative by the Turkish government to reform the education system. In addition to the new requirements for teachers, on Monday electronic tablets were delivered to schoolchildren and teachers to integrate technology into public education.

Turkey's education system faced criticism in the past, particularly over the low number of schools available to accommodate an ever-growing number of students. With an increase in the number of schools in recent years, images of crammed classrooms disappeared. Underdeveloped regions in remote parts of Turkey still suffer from an insufficient number of teachers.

The government also introduced 12-year compulsory education in 2012, replacing the previous eight-year compulsory education system.

Under the AK Party government, the Ministry of National Education also started distribution free textbooks to schools.



Istanbul / Daily Sabah