The Turkish Parliament unanimously extended the mandate of a commission investigating school violence and digital risks by one month on July 21, noting that the initial three-month timeframe was insufficient.
The committee, led by Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker Yusuf Beyazıt, focuses on incidents in the southeastern provinces of Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa. The extension will take effect on July 29 to allow for a comprehensive investigation.
The violence in these schools represents a multidimensional social issue threatening children’s right to life and education rather than isolated security breaches, Beyazıt said. Institutions must provide measurable commitments instead of generic evaluations to prevent future incidents, he said.
Implementing surveillance that treats children as potential criminals is as unacceptable as ignoring severe violence, Beyazıt said. The committee expects every participating institution to present at least one concrete pledge with a defined timeframe and success metric, he said.
Meanwhile, official data reveals the extent of ongoing child protection efforts. The Family and Social Services Ministry provided professional intervention to 125,494 children through school and street outreach programs, Child Services Director General Hasan Basri Alagöz said.
State support allowed 195,885 children to remain with their families through social and economic assistance programs as of late June. Concurrently, foster families care for 11,034 minors, while nearly 6,000 children reside in state-run homes designed to mimic family environments, Alagöz said. An additional 8,275 minors are supported in specialized sites, including facilities for juvenile rehabilitation, he said.
Authorities are also pushing to educate minors on digital safety. Provincial child rights committees organized 6,345 events in 2025 focused strictly on digital rights, reaching 251,397 children, Alagöz said.
In a parallel effort, the government is expanding physical infrastructure in high-crime neighborhoods. The Youth and Sports Ministry operates 373 youth offices in such areas to provide accessible services, Youth Services Director General Enes Efendioğlu said. Over 5.2 million young people are registered in the network, which will expand to 660 centers by late 2027, he said.
To preemptively address juvenile delinquency and violence against women, officials launched a centralized social risk map in May. The system compiles data from multiple ministries to guide provincial authorities in targeted, localized interventions, Family and Community Services Director General Tuncay Cevheroğlu said.
