Civil Servant in the Public Sector, Seasonal Worker in the Private Sector
A COUNTRY WHERE EQUALITY IS NOT TAUGHT
One of the most fundamental principles of the modern state is equality of opportunity.
Education, however, is the most important area where this claim is put into practice.
For this reason, teaching is not viewed merely as a profession throughout the world; it is recognized as a public duty, a social responsibility, and a fundamental element in building the future.
However, there is a major contradiction in Turkey that has been ignored for years:
Of two teachers who graduated from the same university, received the same degree, completed the same teacher-training program, and teach the same curriculum, one works under the protection of the state while the other is left at the mercy of the market.
Someone is making vacation plans at the end of the school year.
The other is wondering whether he'll lose his job.
Someone is planning for retirement.
The other is going after the unpaid premiums.
Someone is practicing their profession.
The other is fighting to keep his job.
The first question to ask is:
How did such a significant difference in status come about among people in the same profession?
This issue is not limited to private school teachers.
This question raises a point where the concept of the welfare state must be scrutinized.
Because the very reason for the existence of the welfare state is to counterbalance the inequalities created by the market.
However, the current situation in the education sector shows exactly the opposite.
The government trains teachers.
Universities award degrees.
The Ministry of National Education recognizes the same teaching qualifications.
However, when it comes to the world of work, two very different Turkeys emerge.
On the one hand, teachers who are supported by public guarantees.
On the other hand, there are teachers who have to wait for their contracts to be renewed every year, lose their income during the summer months, and are often unable to make plans for the future.
What is even more thought-provoking is that this situation has become the norm.
It’s as if the precarious working conditions of private school teachers were treated as some kind of law of nature.
It seems as though what is happening in the education sector is viewed as nothing more than the working relationships found in any commercial enterprise.
In fact, what is produced here is not shoes.
It is not furniture.
It is not a consumer product.
What we do here is nurture people.
And the fact that those who raise children have become so insecure that they cannot build a life for themselves is not only an economic problem but also a moral one.
The way a country treats its teachers is, in fact, the way it treats its future.
When we look at the situation facing private school teachers today, what we see is not merely a problem related to working conditions; it is a profound issue of inequality that calls into question educational policies, the concept of the welfare state, and the notion of public responsibility all at once.
Because the issue has now gone beyond the question of salary.
The issue is why people with the same degree are treated as if they were different citizens.
THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF EDUCATION AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF TEACHERS INTO A COST ITEM
One of the most significant transformations in the field of education in Turkey over the past twenty years has been the extraordinary growth of the private education sector.
The model of private schools, which once catered to specific income groups, has now evolved into a massive sector that has spread to nearly every city in the country.
Thousands of campuses…
Millions of students…
An economic volume of hundreds of billions of liras…
Glamorous promotional videos…
International programs…
Promises about foreign languages…
Technological infrastructures…
And an education market that’s growing every year…
However, right in the midst of all this growth, there is a striking paradox.
The industry is growing.
The number of schools is increasing.
The fees paid by parents are rising.
However, teachers' economic security is not growing at the same rate.
In fact, in many cases, it’s actually declining.
This is because education is increasingly becoming less of a public service and more of a sector governed by market logic.
The basic logic of the market is simple:
Increase revenue.
To reduce costs.
It is precisely at this point that the teacher ceases to be the subject of the education system and is reduced to a line in the cost sheet.
Yet this is where the biggest contradiction in the education sector begins.
Because the true value of a school is measured not by the size of its building, but by the quality of its teachers.
Parents entrust their children to teachers, not to concrete buildings.
It is not the smart board that ensures success on exams.
It’s not the size of the campus that makes a difference in a student’s life.
At the heart of all this is the teacher.
However, market logic works exactly the opposite way.
Advertising budgets are growing.
Promotional events are on the rise.
Millions are being spent on corporate visibility.
However, when it comes to teachers' working conditions, the urge to cut costs kicks in.
A lower wage…
More class hours…
More shifts…
More unpaid overtime…
More pressure to perform…
Less security…
This situation is not merely an economic choice.
This is also an ideological choice that reveals how education is viewed.
This is because there is a fundamental difference between a system that prioritizes teachers and one that prioritizes profitability.
In the first one, teachers are viewed as an investment.
In the second one, as an expense item.
This is precisely the common thread running through the stories told by private school teachers today.
Teachers no longer just provide education.
He's doing his homework.
He's on duty.
He takes part in open house events.
He is in charge of parent relations.
He organizes events.
It helps increase social media visibility.
They are often assigned to tasks outside their field of expertise.
However, in exchange for all of this, the rights they enjoy are gradually being curtailed.
What is even more painful is that this situation affects not only the teacher but also the student.
This is because there is a direct relationship between the quality of education and teachers' working conditions.
A teacher who does not feel safe cannot think freely.
A teacher who lives in fear of the future cannot develop a long-term educational plan.
A teacher who is constantly under pressure from their contract cannot maintain their academic independence.
Therefore, it is not just the teacher who loses out here.
Education is the loser.
The student is the one who loses out.
It is the future of society that is at stake.
And while all this is happening, portraying the growth of the education sector as a success story is nothing more than looking at the facade of the building and turning a blind eye to the cracks forming at its foundation.
THOSE WHO TEACH EQUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM LIVE WITH INEQUALITY
A society’s greatest contradictions are sometimes hidden not in numbers, but in symbols.
One of the greatest symbolic contradictions in Turkey’s education system is this:
Teachers who teach children about equality are themselves living amid inequality.
Constitutional rights are being taught in class.
Human rights are being discussed.
The concept of the welfare state is being explained.
The concept of equal opportunity is being explained.
Labor is being discussed.
Justice is being discussed.
However, once class is over and everyone heads to the teachers’ lounge, the gap between the concepts discussed and the reality they face becomes painfully apparent.
If a teacher, despite holding a diploma recognized by the same government, is subject to a completely different employment regime simply because the institution where they work has a different name, then there is a serious systemic problem here.
Because the issue is much bigger than just a pay gap.
This is a matter of citizenship rights.
This is a matter of social justice.
The issue is that the government treats people in the same profession differently.
The job insecurity faced by private school teachers does not only have economic consequences.
It also has psychological consequences.
Living without knowing what the next year will bring…
Waiting to see if the contract will be renewed or not…
Experiencing a loss of income during the summer months…
Thinking about rent, bills, and the cost of living…
All of this weighs not only on the teacher’s wallet but also on their mind.
And this is precisely where the greatest shortcoming of the education system becomes apparent.
Because a teacher whose mind is constantly preoccupied with the struggle for survival is expected to inspire their students.
Yet the history of humanity tells us something else.
From Aristotle to Hannah Arendt, many thinkers have emphasized that security is a prerequisite for free thought.
It is extremely difficult for individuals who constantly experience existential anxiety to be creative, free, and productive.
This is exactly the problem that private school teachers face today.
The problem isn't just low wages.
The problem isn't just the contract.
The problem is that teachers are forced to live in a state of constant uncertainty.
That is why the protests, marches, press statements, and even hunger strikes organized by private school teachers in recent years are not merely about demands related to working conditions.
These are also efforts to make visible an inequality that has been rendered invisible.
Because for years, students have been the focus of discussions about education.
The parents were discussed.
The topic of schools came up.
The curricula were discussed.
But the teacher himself wasn't discussed enough.
The tension we’re seeing today is partly a result of this.
Because sounds that haven't been heard for a long time start to get louder after a while.
And the question private school teachers are asking today is actually very simple:
Since we’re providing the same training…
Since we share the same responsibility…
Since we’re building the same future…
So why don't we have the same protections?
This is a question that must be answered not only by the Ministry of National Education but by all political structures that claim to be a welfare state.
Because this is not a question for teachers, but a question of justice itself.
IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO SEE THE PROBLEM; YOU HAVE TO SOLVE IT, TOO
Today, no one denies that the problem exists.
Private school teachers speak out.
Unions are releasing reports.
Academics are issuing a warning.
Parents can see it.
Politicians agree.
However, even after accepting all of this, one thing remains unchanged:
The problem remains.
Because, as is the case with many issues in Turkey, the gap between diagnosis and treatment is widening in the field of education as well.
Everyone can see the inequality that teachers face.
But very few people are stepping forward to demonstrate the political will needed to eliminate this inequality.
Yet the matter is perfectly clear.
If, of two teachers with the same degree, one works under public employment security while the other is forced to look for a new job every year, this is not a case of market success but of the failure of the welfare state.
Because the fundamental role of the welfare state is not merely to distribute aid.
Its primary mission is to ensure working conditions that allow people to live with dignity.
Even when looking at the demands of private school teachers today, there is no extraordinary list of demands.
No one is asking for special treatment.
No one is asking for special treatment.
No one wants immunity.
What is needed are regulations that will preserve the basic dignity of the teaching profession.
First and foremost, the minimum wage policy must be reinstated.
Leaving a teacher’s income entirely to market conditions is incompatible with the quality of educational services.
The government must establish mechanisms to safeguard the minimum standards of the teaching profession.
Second, the practice of fixed-term contracts should be reevaluated.
The fact that teachers employed in permanent positions are forced to renew their contracts every year runs counter to the spirit of modern labor law.
Open-ended contracts should be made the standard for teachers.
Third, the oversight system in the workplace must be made to function effectively.
Insufficient insurance…
Unreported wages…
Making overtime invisible…
Practices involving the employment of workers under different job titles…
These are all issues that can be addressed.
The problem is not a lack of rules, but a lack of enforcement.
Fourth, the de facto restrictions on union organizing must be eliminated.
There can be no talk of labor peace in a place where a teacher fears losing their job for standing up for their rights.
Teachers must be able to organize, voice objections, and make demands, and they must be certain that they will not be punished for doing so.
However, there is an even bigger issue than all of this.
Turkey needs to re-examine its approach to education.
This is because, in recent years, education has increasingly become a field approached through a market-driven lens.
However, education is not merely an economic activity.
Education is also a social contract.
It is the name given to a society’s collective investment in the future.
For this reason, teachers working at private schools fulfill a public duty just as much as those working in the public sector.
What matters is not who pays the salary of the person who imparts knowledge to children, but the social value of the work they do.
The fundamental question facing Turkey today is this:
Will we continue with an education system that leaves teachers at the mercy of the market, or will we build an educational philosophy that puts teachers at the center?
Because we must not forget that education systems collapse not because of a lack of buildings, but because teachers are devalued.
And if a country cannot protect the present of the teachers to whom it entrusts its children’s future, it cannot secure its future either.
For this reason, the struggle waged by private school teachers is not merely a struggle for their own rights.
This struggle is a fight to defend the public nature of education, the principle of the welfare state, and the idea of equal opportunity.
The question now is:
How much longer will we continue to view one of the two teachers standing at the same lectern as a civil servant and the other as a seasonal worker?