CHP makes 14-item education call to gov’t

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Sept. 16 has made a 14-item call to the government for education during the pandemic and offered the support of its municipalities to the Education Ministry.

Kılıçdaroğlu reminded that distance learning due to the pandemic is not possible for children who do not have television and internet at home.

“A ‘Have a TV’ campaign should be started. If the Education Ministry will not start this campaign, the municipalities with the CHP will,” he said, speaking at a press conference held on the issue of education in Turkey.

People that can afford to do so prefer to send their children to private schools, but those who are not in good condition send them to public schools, he said, emphasizing that Turkey came across an extraordinary picture of inequality in education.

At the time of the pandemic, these problems arose bitterly, according to the CHP leader.

There is no internet in the homes of 3,017,718 students who are enrolled in public schools in compulsory formal education, Kılıçdaroglu stated.

Besides, 754,429 students, who have education in public schools, do not have any television in their homes and they had to have distance learning on TV, which is called EBA, he noted.

At least 57,340 new classrooms are needed for education suitable for pandemic conditions, while 92,165 new teachers are needed for education suitable for these circumstances, he said.

Some village schools should be reopened when necessary, he said.

“If the Treasury and Finance Ministry has a resource problem, the mayors of the CHP are willing to do it in their regions, provided that space is allocated,” Kılıçdaroğlu stated.

CHP mayors can prepare ISMEK and BELMEK buildings to allocate to the Education Ministry, he said.

“The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Lifelong Learning Center and Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Lifelong Learning Center are ready to designate their buildings for the use of Education Ministry to contribute to the appropriate education of our children,” he said.

He stressed that with the opening of new classrooms in this period, 92,000 teachers should be appointed quickly without delay.