Privatization and reactionism in education are in full spate.
All the neighbourhoods have been blockaded by imam-hatip schools, so-called teacher imams at schools and compulsory or optional religious classes while the whole curriculum has been filled with anti-scientific reactionary elements. The current situation shows that the decline in the quality of education and the academic failure are increasing every year. The national and international examinations clearly demonstrate this fact.
The children’s right to education is usurped
Absenteeism at schools is increasing every year despite the 12-year compulsory education. Our children leave their schools to work or get married at early ages when they need to study. Open high schools became insufficient, now we have open secondary schools. As non-formal education was a right entitled to the adults who could not receive education in the past years, it has become an instrument to keep the school-age children from working-class families away from the schools.
The parents shoulder the burden of public schools
As the content of education is being contaminated by reactionism on the one hand, the public resources of millions of lira that should be allocated for public schools are being transferred to the bosses of private schools, as well as reactionary associations and foundations. They have decreased the quality of education in a planned and programmed way. Then they have wanted the parents to solve the problems they created. They tell the parents, “We will open the courses of English, give us money. We will organize the events of sport and arts, give us money. We will prepare trial exams, give us money. We will provide food at schools, give us money. We will employ cleaning workers at schools, give us money.” As the government is paving the way for private schools on every corner with financial aids, the expenses of the parents whose children study at public schools are gradually increasing every year.
Education is a right
Education is a very important public responsibility that should not be left to the initiative of market conditions and bosses. It is the responsibility of the state to provide free, scientific and secular education to the citizens by paying regard to the interests of the whole society. In other words, education is a right. In today’s capitalist order, the state is protecting the interests of the bosses, not of the workers and children. In every field; education, healthcare, housing…
As the reality of earthquakes in our country is ignored, leading to destructions in favor of the profit-seekers, with anti-scientific implementations in this social order, they are also devastating the future of children due to the collapse of education. Just as they say, “You’re on your own” after the earthquakes, they are doing the same for education. If you have money you can send your children to good schools, if you don’t have money you send your children to imam-hatip schools or to so-called vocational schools to be a child worker at early ages.
Call!
We are calling on all the parents and teachers: Let’s get organized, let’s say ‘stop’ to reactionism and privatization in order not to leave our children to ignorance, darkness and to the mercy of bosses. Let’s get organized and strengthen our struggle so that we can win our children’s right to public, scientific and secular education against this darkness!
Communist Party of Turkey