Artı Gerçek – The Education and Science Trade Union (Eğitim-Sen) wanted to march to Parliament in front of the Ministry of National Education to react to the proposed teaching profession law that began to be discussed in the general assembly. After being prevented from marching by the police, the teachers started a sit-in protest in front of the Ministry of Education.
Teachers who are members of the Echtim Işi union gathered at the parliament building to protest against the teaching profession law. The teachers wanted to march to the First Parliament. The police did not allow the teachers to march, chanting slogans such as “We are Mustafa Kemal’s teachers” and “Minister of Religion Yusuf Tekin.”
Teams intervened when teachers broke through police barricades, some of whom fainted, after which the teachers began a sit-in protest.
CHP MPs Ali Mahir Basarir, Veli Ababa, Ahmet Akın, Mahmut Tanar and Democrat MP Cemal Engınürt came to the scene to support the teachers. Police teams then took precautionary measures and allowed the teachers to walk. The teachers organized a march from the Parliament building to the First Parliament, chanting slogans.
H.E. Tim Sen Chairman Kemal Irmak said in a statement here:
“We said, ‘Our friend is in custody,’ and they said, ‘No,’ and they said, ‘This door doesn’t work, this door works,’ and we said, ‘Okay,’ and then they said something else. They hid from people. We told them here that our friend is in custody, and they called headquarters and said, ‘Your friend is in custody.’
It’s an undemocratic law, and that’s why we’re against it. We have barricades in front of us that have been imposed in an undemocratic way. These barricades are not built for us, they are actually barricades built for this country, for the future of this country, for our educators and their children. “They don’t know about it.”
“We know the perpetrators, they will be held accountable.”
Only the elders are protected here. But the children, the future of the country, are under threat. They are trying to darken our future. They want to drag us into the darkness of the Middle Ages. We know the culprits, they will be held accountable. I want you all to know this: if this barricade is not opened by 5 p.m., I will call the whole organization here tomorrow. Tomorrow, our whole organization will come here and overcome this barricade that has been built against us and the law that is being made for us in an undemocratic way in parliament. Together with them, we will overcome that law and this barricade.
“They create an educational order with their bosses and their cults.”
They want to send our children to cult homes. They are building these barricades because we are against this. The perpetrators will be held accountable. 90,000 education workers are working below minimum wage. They want to employ teachers under slavery. They have darkened the educational lives of billions of children with the exam-oriented education system they created. They will be held accountable for creating widespread poverty. Labor laws will not solve any of the problems of education workers. They don’t want to hear about it. They are imposing miserable wages on teachers. They have destroyed the quality of education. They are creating an education system run by bosses and sects.
Educators from the Education Center said they would continue their sit-in protest in front of the Ministry of Education until the barricades were removed and a statement was made in front of the National Assembly. (Phoenix)
