Türkiye to unveil new school security measures early next year

ANKARA

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin (AA Photo)

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin said on Oct. 8 that the government will unveil a new package of security measures for schools in February 2027, describing a series of school attacks this year as having become an “epidemic.”

“We will be before the public with a different solution as of February,” Tekin told private broadcaster Haber Global in an interview.

However, the minister did not provide details on what the new measures would entail.

Tekin said security measures were strengthened under the current action plan prepared with the participation of seven ministries, adding that work was underway on a range of issues, from the condition of school perimeter walls to electronic security systems and the installation of security cameras in schoolyards.

“Unfortunately, this has become an epidemic. Police measures alone are not sufficient to combat this,” Tekin said, stressing that parents had one of the most important roles to play in addressing the problem.

Tekin also recalled that the Education Ministry launched a “Parent School” program aimed at involving families more closely in their children’s education, covering issues such as effective parent-child communication and family relationships.

He said parents whose children were starting primary or middle school this year had been required to complete the program.

Türkiye has witnessed a series of attacks at schools since April.

In April, a student attacked his school in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, killing nine students and a teacher.

The incident, which shocked the country, prompted authorities to introduce extensive security measures at schools, including searches of students’ bags with metal detectors at school entrances and the recruitment of 25,000 security personnel nationwide.

In the latest incident, a student from another school carried out a knife attack at a middle school in Istanbul’s Başakşehir district on Oct. 6, killing one student and injuring seven others.