According to Article 26 of the Law No. 7528 on the Teaching Profession, the National Academy of Education is an institution established under the Ministry of National Education whose function is to prepare, implement and evaluate training programs for the preparation of prospective teachers for the profession, professional development of teachers, administrators and other personnel, advancement in career steps and promotion in office.
The provisions on the functioning of the National Education Academy were explained in detail in the Law on the Teaching Profession, but there was no regulation on the qualifications and working conditions of the personnel to work in the academy. To remedy this deficiency, on July 30, 2025, the Ministry of National Education published the National Education Academy Contracted Education Personnel Regulation.
According to Article 5 of the Regulation, those who will be employed as training personnel;
a) To have a PhD or higher academic title,
b) Having the title of expert teacher or head teacher, provided that they are working as a teacher,
c) Provided that he/she has completed at least undergraduate level education, having ten years or more of service in the Ministry staff and having spent at least three years of this period in branch manager and higher positions, one of the conditions is sought.
Those who meet these conditions will be employed as training staff at the Academy;
a) Those who will be employed from the faculty member positions subject to the Higher Education Personnel Law No. 2914 shall be appointed by the Minister among those proposed by the Academic Board of the National Education Academy,
b) Those who will be employed among those working in the Ministry staff, according to the result of the oral exam, which will be taken by three times the quota, determined as a result of the evaluation to be made on the education personnel evaluation form in Annex-1,
c) Those who will be employed other than subparagraphs (a) and (b) shall be determined according to the results of the written and/or oral examination.
Article 24, paragraph 4 of the Regulation reads as follows: “A service contract is signed between the person employed as training personnel and the Minister or, if authorized by the Minister, the President of the Academy.” and Article 27 reads as follows: “The service contract is made in writing for one year. At the end of this period, a new contract may be signed. In the event that the contract period expires, the contract period may be extended for up to three months until a new contract is signed.”.
When we evaluate these provisions together, an interesting situation emerges. Namely;
Academics who want to serve as education personnel at the National Education Academy and who are currently working as permanent staff at universities, specialist teachers and head teachers working as permanent staff at schools and institutions affiliated to the Ministry of National Education, and teachers or other personnel who have served in the Ministry of National Education for at least ten years and have spent three years in branch manager or higher positions, academic staff will be appointed at the mercy of the Academy's academic board, other staff will be appointed at the mercy of the Academy's academic board after a written and oral examination, and after serving for one year, they will face an uncertain situation if the Minister of National Education or the President of the National Education Academy authorized by the Minister does not renew their contracts or does not extend them for at least three months.
This is precarity!
This is uncertainty!
This is a deliberate and willful elimination of job security!
This is managing the National Education Academy like a private company!
By accepting these conditions, it is not wise to leave the permanent public service they have been carrying out for years and switch to a contracted personnel position!
Perhaps the real purpose of the National Education Academy Contracted Education Personnel Regulation is to gradually transfer precarious working conditions to the Ministry of National Education.