Dramatic increase in start-up costs in 4 years

Lale Karabıyık, vice president of the CHP and former Bursa MP, said in a written statement: “Are our schools ready for education?” she asked her.

“WE WILL SEE HOW THE ENVIRONMENTS WAIT FOR OUR CHILDREN”

Karabıyık recalled that the 2023-2024 academic year will begin on September 11, saying, “As in previous academic years, our schools will open with many shortcomings in this academic year. Our students, teachers and parents will have to face many problems. Although the Minister of National Education stated that we will start the new academic year smoothly, in reality the situation is not as announced. For example, in our provinces that suffered the earthquake on February 6, the necessary precautions were not taken. We will see and experience together what kind of environments await our children on 9/11,” he said.

“DIFFICULT DAYS AWAIT OUR PARENTS DUE TO INFLATION”

Continuing his words by saying, “On the other hand, education was one of the areas most affected by the economic crisis,” Karabıyık said, “Getting to school means continuing school life as desired, preparing for the next day after school, and bearing a high cost for all families. Because of this increased cost, our parents who send their children to private schools, or who are considering sending them, are rightly turning to public schools. Either in private or public schools, our parents are in for more difficult days due to inflation.

Karabıyık also shared her research on the actual prices of 137 products on the market to reveal the economic cost of starting school in the past 4 years. Among the figures exposed in his investigation; Noting that there are no mandatory donations to the school, money collected for organizing classes, and pocket money that parents give to their children, Karabıyık said, “When we add these fees, which are called mandatory donations, school expenses will be a severe burden, especially for low- and middle-income families.”

INCREASED IN NUMBERS

Karabıyık continued his words by giving figures:

* “Primary school start costs compared to 2019; Increased 285.26 percent in 2022 and 654.36 percent in 2023. Elementary school start costs compared to 2019; Increased 316 percent in 2022 and 493.8 percent in 2023. Cost of starting school at the high school level compared to 2019; Increased 304.1 percent in 2022 and 450.5 percent in 2023. Cost of starting school at the secondary level compared to 2019; It increased 286.8 percent in 2022 and 486.4 percent in 2023. As every year, our schools will start the academic year with many shortcomings. In addition to physical deficiencies, there are still deficiencies such as cleaning and security personnel.

“WILL BE TRYED TO CLOSE THE TEACHING GAP WITH THE PAID EDUCATION SYSTEM”

* No permanent assistants or security guards have been appointed. Approximately 63,000 security personnel and 105,000 cleaning personnel are needed. Not enough teachers have been appointed. Considering that over 90,000 paid teachers were employed in the previous academic year, it is clear that students will be left without teachers and teachers without students unless at least 100,000 teachers are appointed. The 45,000 appointments made are not even half of the necessary teachers, considering those who retired and left the system. Therefore, an attempt will be made to cover the shortage of teachers with the paid education system.

“THE LOWEST SALARY OF THE TEACHER MUST BE ABOVE THE POVERTY LINE”

* On the other hand, education workers face severe financial difficulties. A 25-year-old teacher receives a salary of 25,154 lire. For this reason, the Education Preparation Allowance must be paid at least in the amount of one salary and the lowest salary of teachers must be above the poverty line.

“YOU HAVE TO MAKE SCHOOL BUDGETS”

* As long as school budgets are not created, money will continue to be collected from parents. Although the costs of starting school have increased so much, it will only be possible to ease the financial burden on parents by creating school budgets.

“500 TL MUST BE SENT PER STUDENT”

* In the field of compulsory education, there are 15,189,878 students in formal education in public centers. The budget of the MEB is 435 billion lire. At the beginning of each academic year, a budget of at least 500 lira per student must be sent to schools in order to prepare them for education. If 500 lira is sent per student, only 7.5 billion lira (1.72 percent) of the MEB budget will be used.

“IT IS NOT EVEN POSSIBLE TO CLEAN SCHOOLS WITH THE RESOURCES TRANSFERRED FROM THE BUDGET”

* The former Minister of National Education stated that a budget was sent to schools. However, the budget is sent only to secondary schools by the Ministry of National Education, while in primary and secondary schools only electricity, water and heating costs are covered. This year a part of the budget has been allocated to primary and secondary schools. However, the 4,500 lira sent to a school with 1,000 students fell far short of the needs. Schools with 1,000 students need at least 5-6 cleaners. Considering that these schools pay approximately 80,000 lira per month for only six cleaning staff, it is not even possible to clean the schools with the resources transferred from the central budget.

“THE OFFICIAL HAS TO SPEND HALF OF HIS SALARY AS SCHOOL EXPENSES”

* The cost of living was reflected in the materials used by students, and there was a large increase in all materials compared to previous years. A family that earns minimum wage has to spend more than a month’s salary on their child starting elementary school, and the lowest-paid employee has to spend half their salary on school expenses.

“SCHOOLS BECOME INSTITUTIONS THAT REFLECT ALL THE INEQUALITIES OF SOCIETY”

* Consequently, according to article 42 of the constitution, basic education is free and equal for all our citizens. For this reason, the State has to guarantee that our children receive an education on equal terms. Parental education spending shows that this cannot be achieved in public schools. For this reason, our schools have become institutions that reflect all the inequalities of society”.