How is Atatürk’s ‘army of education’ doing?

Nov. 24 is Teachers’ Day. This has a practical use for 24 hours because it reminds us of how valuable our teachers are.

* Statesmen and politicians are issuing statements regarding the vital role of teachers in Turkey. The media are bringing teachers to the spotlight to focus on their problems and publishing numerous articles or research projects on the issue. Teachers find their way into the headlines once a year.

70 pct. have credit card debt

As we observed Teachers’ Day on Tuesday, we learned about one of the most striking studies conducted in Turkey. The Turkish Education Union, or Eğitim-Sen, ran a poll with the participation of 3,065 teachers nationwide.

We learned that:

- 60.4 percent of teachers do not own a house,

- 70.5 percent have credit card debt,

- The family lives of about 33.2 percent are negatively affected because of money issues,

- 21.6 percent are about to get a divorce due to financial difficulties,

- 34.1 percent are having anxiety attacks because of economic problems,

- 7.5 percent are in depression.

* One of the questions asked was if they like teaching. Despite all odds, 62.7 percent said they love teaching while 37.2 percent said they did not.

* Considering that we have a total of about 700,000 teachers in Turkey, approximately 260,000 face students every morning doing a job they don’t enjoy.

Education faculties without labs

* Another study by the Turkish Education Association, or TED, was revealed recently. The study titled “Research on Teacher Competency” gave the following results:

- The annual income of a teacher in Turkey is approximately 50 percent below that of the international average.

- A teacher in the European Union starts the job with $29,500 but this figure is $14,000 in Turkey.

- 21.7 percent are teaching in disciplines they did not graduate from.

- At least one-third was not interested in being a teacher at the beginning.

- Professional development activities are extremely low among teachers.

* But we see more serious problems in the education process. “Teachers are not instructed well,” reads the TED study, bringing attention to inadequate physical infrastructure, number of instructors and equipment.

For instance, in the Siirt faculty of education there are 867 students per faculty member. Twenty-two faculties do not have physics laboratories and 19 do not have biology laboratories.

The average number of students per computer in education faculties is 39.

* In short, a considerable number of candidate teachers are graduating without having done a single experiment in labs and are thus joining the “army of education” without having proper computer skills.

250,000 job openings for teachers

* TED President Selçuk Pehlivanoğlu wrote in an article in daily Radikal the other day; he said new schools with full equipment are being built, but adds:

“Our teachers who will help us achieve the goals, raise students and apply programs are being neglected. Our education system is like a car spinning in the mud.”

* There are some other huge problems in this worrisome picture, of course. We have a total of 318,000 job openings for teachers, 220,000 of which are in primary education and 98,000 in secondary education. On the other hand, we have 310,000 unemployed teachers since they are not appointed by the government.

* Another trouble is that about 70,000 teachers are working as unofficial staff, many for a very low salary.

Happy Teachers’ Day!

* Mr. Sedat Ergin is a columnist for daily Hürriyet in which this piece appeared Wednesday. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.