CHP CHAIRPERSON AND THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF THE NATION ALLIANCE KEMAL KILIÇDAROĞLU, ANNOUNCED THE REVOLUTION HE WILL MAKE IN EDUCATION

CHP Chairperson and National Alliance Presidential Candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said, "The biggest revolution I will make in education is to transform the Ministry of National Education into an independent structure like the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and make it an institution in which politics will never enter. Thanks to this structure, whose doors will be completely closed to political interventions, education will be guided by the star experts of education and the boards they formed. These boards will put forward education policies. The Ministry of National Education will manage the organisation and be the executive ministry. Just as the champions league team in the economy will work day and night for the national economy, our champions league team will work for the great leap we will realise in education. Notice that I say 'staff', not 'our staff', because this staff will not be political. We will gather the best. We will do this with Turkish educators who have made a great impression on Turkey and the world. When a minister leaves and a new minister comes, he cannot throw the system like a piece of rag. When a government leaves and a new government comes, it will be unable to riddle the education system with holes according to its mind. Education policies will be managed based on untouchable merit."

CHP Chairperson and Presidential Candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said on his social media account today, "We have to continue working for the future of Turkey. No paramilitary structure should stop us from our path. Today, I am responding to Turkey's most painful issue with a revolutionary project. Education." in the video he shared with the note, he said the following:

Dear people, dear young people;

Today we will discuss a vital issue I have been working on for a long time. The issue of education. In other words, the most critical issue for all of us. No matter who we are or what we believe in, we all know that education in this country is terrible and cripples our children. Our education system has been systematically destroyed for many years. The cost of the last 20 years has been hefty. This government has changed the Minister of National Education 8 times. The education system has changed 17 times, 17 times. Can you believe it, exactly 17 times, like a jigsaw puzzle?

Today, students, teachers, and parents are unhappy with education. How can they be happy? Who can be pleased with an education system that has been so wastefully used up? But, my dear people, another painful aspect of the matter exists. The education expenditure of a family in Turkey is more than twice the OECD average. Imagine; not only have they impoverished the people but also increased education expenditures to twice the OECD average. Mothers and fathers were crushed under the costs of education. They have been experiencing the heartbreak of being unable to provide for their children. In this country, education is the only way for people experiencing poverty to break their misfortune. If you take this opportunity away from low-income people, you leave them no chance to change their lives.

Three and a half million children in Turkey are out of education. In this country, some children are deprived of education to support their families. Those who ruined the economy trapped these children in the cycle of poverty. They took away the chance for those children to have a better future than their parents. I know all the problems and have been working on solutions for a long time. We have outlined our framework on education in the Common Policies Memorandum of Understanding we announced as the Nation Alliance. But we will implement much more.

I will explain these policies later. Then, you can read and analyse those policies. Today, I will explain the most significant revolution I will make in education. I have been thinking about what is the biggest enemy of good teaching. There is a straightforward answer to this question. It is politics. If you try to manage education with political motives, that system collapses. Therefore, the most significant reform is to manage the Ministry of National Education according to the pedagogical rules recognised in the world and to free it from the influence of politics. In other words, political parties should know their place in national issues above politics and should not bring politics into these areas.

In short, the most significant revolution I will make in education is transforming the Ministry of National Education into an independent institution, like the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, in which politics will never enter. Thanks to this structure, whose doors will be closed entirely to political interference, education will be guided by the star experts of education and the boards they formed. These boards will put forward education policies. The Ministry of National Education will manage the organisation and be the executive ministry. Just as the champions league team in the economy will work day and night for the national economy, our champions league team will work for the great leap we will realise in education.

Notice that I say 'staff', not 'our staff', because this staff will not be political. We will gather the best. We will do this with Turkish educators who have made a great impression on Turkey and the world. When a minister leaves and a new minister comes, he cannot throw the system like a piece of rag. When a government leaves and a new government comes, it cannot riddle the education system with holes according to its mind. Education policies will be managed based on untouchable merit. And all moves will be implemented in line with short, medium and long-term macro and micro plans. We will secure this immunity by law. Education will be based on merit, not politics.

We will rapidly improve the quality of education faculties in this direction. The welfare of our teachers will be enhanced, as well as their competence. Because this also means the competence and future interest of our children. Teachers will have high self-confidence to prepare their students for life.

And what will be the result? Public schools will recover rapidly. Quality will quickly improve. Parents will give their children to these schools with peace of mind. And an education quality that can compete with the private sector will emerge.

A significant branch of this revolution is vocational education. Our country has an unemployment problem. But we have another problem beyond that. And that is unemployment. Young people need help finding a job. Employers need help finding competent employees with professional knowledge and self-confidence suitable for the job. We will quickly get out of this vicious circle. We will rebuild the entire vocational education system to cover our ancient professions, today's needs and the professions of the future that do not exist today. All professions, including tailoring, welding, drone piloting and software development, are on our radar.

We have studied the best vocational education practices worldwide, as countries such as Germany and Finland solved decades ago, and we have prepared a magnificent system suitable for Turkey. We have worked on a new model that provides education at international standards and internationally valid diplomas. As a result, the vocational diplomas of our young people will be valid all over the world. They will use these competencies they have gained not to escape from the country but to see the world and return to their countries to apply them. In time, we will even be able to export these educational practices.

My dear people, this issue is at the heart of all my shared plans and projects. Because we can achieve the breakthroughs that will enable us to compete with the world only with a solid and effective education system, you will see that the education revolution we will start as soon as we come to power will spread great energy throughout our country. We will enter the second century of our Republic as we deserve. We will build a future full of hope for our children.

That is why I say, 'Come on', come on, my Turkey."