Türkiye and the problem of inequality in educational opportunities

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, these days in Turkey, Many commentators in the political-social fields as well as economists point to another important harm and problem of this country, which has a direct impact on the fate of Turkey today and tomorrow.

In the name of severe weakness and regression of the educational system in Turkey and injustice and inequality in access to educational opportunities. This issue is highlighted because the results of the latest PISA assessment showed that Turkey is in the lower middle category in terms of the state of the education system.

Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) A Study It is a global organization organized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and evaluates the academic performance of 15-year-old students in mathematics, science and the ability to read texts correctly.

Importance of assessment The annual PISA is based on comparative analysis, it provides the possibility of scoring and comparing the educational performance of students in different countries.

And educators gain useful information about the strengths and weaknesses of their education system compared to other countries. Identifying trends and developments, summarizing about the development and modification of educational policies and educational methods to better meet the needs of students and improve the overall results of education, are other achievements of this annual program.

PISA also examines the degree of equity in education by assessing the impact of socioeconomic background and other factors on student performance. It helps identify disparities and challenges to educational equity and allows for targeted interventions to reduce achievement gaps.

Turkey and the importance of paying attention to the principle of justice in education

Equality in education and fair educational opportunities are very important to create a just and developed society. When everyone, regardless of background, has equal access to quality education, it promotes social mobility, reduces inequality, and boosts economic growth.

Furthermore, a An equitable education system helps create a more inclusive society by providing the opportunity for each individual to reach their full potential. Turkey also gave great importance to this issue in the 2023 development vision, but evidence shows that the goals of this document have not been achieved in the field of education.

This country has progressed over the years. has been significant in expanding access to education. However, there are challenges in ensuring equal educational opportunities for all. including that there are significant differences in the quality of education and access to resources between urban and rural areas.

Students in rural areas often have less access to trained teachers, modern facilities and they have educational materials that can hinder their academic progress.

In the past years in Turkey, the class gap has become more and more and socio-economic inequality has made children from low-income families income, have limited access to educational support, tutoring and scientific resources, which can affect their academic success and future opportunities.

Attention to the damage of Turkish education system, attention of capital owners and It has also attracted great craftsmen.

Tonjai Ozilhan, head of the Supreme Consultative Council of the Turkish Industrialists and Merchants Association (TÜSİAD), believes that keeping Turkey away from economic crises And the great finance of the world and freedom from the trap of poverty and low income is directly related to the state of the education system. He announced in the latest meeting of the High Consultative Council of Turkish Businessmen and Craftsmen: The period we are going through is the age of many crises. The technological transformation that has been accelerating for some time, the global warming and the environmental crisis that all of us have noticed even in our daily lives, along with the power struggle that has intensified after the collapse of the bipolar world system, the social tensions caused by the increase in inequality. , the inability of central politicians to provide useful solutions and the rise in popularity of extreme radical politicians in many countries, immigration, refugee influxes and the escalation of intercultural conflicts exacerbate instability and uncertainty. In this difficult situation, the only way to improve Turkey is to give importance to science and education. Turkey should give vital importance to equal opportunities in education. Of course, I don’t mean that everyone just goes to school, but I mean that everyone has an equal opportunity to access quality education and does not face any obstacles. We all had equal opportunities, but unfortunately in Turkey today, children are not as lucky as previous generations. Families are beginning to allocate an increasing share of their budgets to quality education. In terms of the share of private resources in education costs, Turkey has the highest rate among OECD countries. These data point to our disadvantage in terms of equal opportunities in education. Unfortunately, many bright children who do not have the opportunity of quality education are wasted and condemned to have a mediocre job and mediocre income”.

Unmotivated students, weak teachers

The research of several university groups in Turkey shows that in the last few years, the quality The teaching and scientific ability of teachers in this country has decreased drastically.

Professor Mohammad Shahin, president of MEF University, says: “Turkey has never been able to improve its educational system in the last twenty years.” to promote In Turkey, there are about 80 technoparks or knowledge and technology parks, the number of patents of which is 11 thousand. But in South Korea it is 272 thousand cases and practically in Turkey, the research and development culture does not work. We have been giving a plan to the minister about the importance of artificial intelligence in the education system for a year, but no response has been given so far.

Ak Yul continues: “Turkey’s problem is not only the poverty of households. We also have big problems in discussing the ability of teachers. Believe me, a teacher cannot teach what he does not know! Recently, based on the results of an official exam of the country’s employment organization, we found that our teachers only answered 48 out of 75 Turkish language and literature questions correctly! In all subjects of mathematics, physics, geography, chemistry, religious culture and ethics, the number of correct answers to 75 questions did not exceed 30 and 40! what does it mean? That means our teachers are also average!

According to experts and analysts, gender inequalities in the education system in Turkey, especially in the eastern provinces of this country, the high costs of educating displaced children Syria and the lack of funds from the Ministry of National Education have made Turkey face serious educational bottlenecks.

As a result, the need to invest in improving the quality of education in rural areas, including teacher training, infrastructure development and providing targeted support and resources for students from low-income families, including scholarships, educational programs seems inevitable.

end of message/