The Cooperation Protocol between the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Industry and Technology on the Establishment of Preschool Education Institutions in Organized Industrial Zones was signed by Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer and Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank. A cooperation protocol was signed between the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Industry and Technology in order to ensure coordination in pre-school education with the developments in the industrial sector and to expand pre-school education services in organized industrial zones in order to increase women's employment.
Speaking at the protocol signing ceremony, Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer stated that they made their second comprehensive cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology; He said that they had made a very important move regarding vocational training centers in organized industrial zones and established vocational training centers in OIZs all over Turkey.
Pointing out that apprentices, journeymen and masters are the most needed in OIZs where small and medium-sized enterprises and the industry are densely clustered, Özer said, “Vocational training centers are trained in a real business environment for the remaining four days, and in Germany. Institutions corresponding to dual vocational education in Turkey… In fact, this is the practice of the Ahi culture, apprenticeship, journeyman, and mastery in our tradition, in Turkey -in this land- which has been going on for centuries. It is a type of education that focuses not only on vocational education, but also on morality and provides values education.” he said.
The number of apprentices and journeymen in vocational training centers has reached 700 thousand
Pointing to the mobilization for all children's access to education in the last two decades, Özer noted that the damages caused by the antidemocratic practices implemented in the previous periods were also eliminated. Özer continued as follows: “While there were approximately 1998 thousand apprentices and journeymen in vocational training centers all over Turkey in 250, that number decreased to 74 thousand after the coefficient application. While every country mobilizes to increase the quality of its human capital, our education policies ask, 'How can we not use human capital?' unfortunately, it produced policies in its focus. Here is the initiative we started with our Minister and as a result of the amendment we made to the Vocational Education Law No. 25 on 2021 December 3038, while there were 159 thousand apprentices and journeymen in vocational training centers all over Turkey -Yesterday, our President announced.- 700 thousand apprentices, we have reached the foreman. This in itself is a silent revolution in the field of vocational education. Our goal is to bring 1 million young people together with this traditional apprenticeship, journeyman and mastership training by the end of the year. Actively using vocational training centers, which is the most important instrument to strengthen vocational education on the one hand, and to reduce our youth unemployment rates on the other hand.”
Expressing that they made every effort to bring the country's most permanent capital, human capital, to education, and to increase its quality, Özer said that OECD countries completed the phase of massification in education in the 1950s, while Turkey only reached this stage with a 70-year delay.
Özer continued as follows: “In the 2000s, we were faced with an educational landscape in Turkey in which the five-year-old preschool enrollment rate was 11 percent, the enrollment rate in secondary education was 40 percent, and the enrollment rate in higher education was 14 percent. Five-year-old schooling rates have increased from 11 percent to 93 percent. Schooling rates of 44 percent in secondary education have now increased to 90 percent. The net enrollment rate in higher education increased from 14 percent to 48,5 percent. In other words, we reached the point where developed countries reached seventy years ago, with a delay of seventy years.”
Pointing out that all anti-democratic practices in front of education have been abolished in the last two decades, Özer stated that those who were deprived of their right to education in many fields, from the headscarf ban to the coefficient application, also gained their rights in this period.
Pointing out that the number of students per teacher and per classroom has decreased in the last two decades, Özer said that Turkey's scores and rankings in international student achievement surveys such as PISA and TIMSS have also increased; He also said that the growth is not in spite of quality, but rather focused on quality.
Noting that one of the most important projects of the Ministry of National Education in the last period is to increase the enrollment rate in pre-school education, Özer continued his speech as follows: “Turkey; Although it has made very serious moves in the rate of schooling in primary, secondary, high school and higher education, the schooling rates in the 3-5 age range before school have not been at the desired level. In order to eliminate this deficiency and to complete the cycle of the success story in education of the last twenty years, we, as the Ministry, focused on pre-school education. We set out to build 3 new kindergartens and 40 thousand new nursery classes under the auspices of Esteemed Emine Erdoğan. The project was announced to the public in September 2021, and we set out to build 3 of these 1000 new kindergartens in Istanbul, because Istanbul was one of the provinces that needed pre-school education the most. The five-year-old school rate was 2021 percent as of September 45. The Ministry of National Education worked with all stakeholders so quickly that as of today, 1.407 independent kindergartens have been prepared for the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year. 10 thousand 200 kindergarten classes.”
Expressing that they will work in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology so that by the end of 2023, there will be no OIZs without a kindergarten, Özer said, “Let's say with peace of mind: There are kindergartens in all our OIZs to increase employment. With this move, we increased the five-year-old schooling rate from 2021 percent in August 78 to 93 percent. As of today, we have increased the schooling rate in pre-school education from 45 percent in Istanbul to 87 percent. By the end of 2022, our goal is to increase the schooling rate for the five-year-olds to 100 percent, the schooling rate for the four-year-olds to 35 percent, which is 70 percent for the four-year-olds, to 14 percent, which is 50 percent for the three-year-olds, and to bring the schooling rate for 3-5 year olds to the OECD average. I also believe that we will achieve this, and I hope, as the Ministry of National Education, that we will have a surprise… We will bring all our children together with kindergartens, not three thousand, but more than three thousand. Therefore, together we will have built an education system where every citizen can access pre-school education free of charge as a reflection of the social policies related to increasing access to education in the last two decades. In this context, I believe that the step we will take today with our Ministry of Industry and Technology is very valuable. Hopefully, the youth of Teknofest are not only academically successful, as our President has often stated by joining hands with our Ministry of Industry and Technology; We will do our best to raise and strengthen a generation that is moral, virtuous, has internalized the values of its state and nation and can give different messages to the world.” used his statements.
Minister Özer thanked Minister Varank and everyone who contributed to his cooperation.
“We aim to open kindergartens in 100 OIZs”
Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank reminded that a new project was started by signing a cooperation protocol between the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Ministry of National Education at the beginning of this year, and that the work within the scope of the project, in which they matched vocational training centers with organized industrial zones, continues successfully, and that the students are matched with the OIZ. He said that he received on-the-job training at the factories located in the 's and learned his professions in the field.
Noting that the training programs and materials in the vocational training centers are developed and updated in line with the needs of the industry, Varank said that the qualified workforce needed is trained much faster and with higher quality. Noting that the lack of intermediate staff is the problem of the industrialists, Varank said, “I was just in the İkitelli Organized Industrial Zone. A common problem they all had was about not finding staff at the moment. They say, 'Minister, send us an employee, and we will recruit immediately'. In this sense, it really becomes clear how important this job is. The phrase 'I can't find the employee I'm looking for with the contribution of vocational training centers' will now be history.” made its assessment. Pointing out that the way to bring Turkey to a brighter future is through value-added production, and that the formula for this is investment, employment, production and exports, Varank said, “Coordination between industry and education sectors is of great importance, especially in the development of employment. Being aware of this, we continue to continue our work in this field with the cooperation of our two ministries.” he said. Varank stated that with the signatures to be signed within the scope of the protocol, they will ensure the opening of pre-school education institutions in the organized industrial zones, “Within the scope of the project, we aim to open kindergartens in 100 organized industrial zones within a year. Of course, this number will increase even more in the coming period. Land, construction and furnishing expenses of the schools will be provided by OIZs under the coordination of the Ministry of Industry and Technology.” said.
Stating that the personnel who will provide service in pre-school education institutions will be assigned by the Ministry of National Education, Varank emphasized that the ministry has provided a great opportunity to the OIZs in this way. Varank stated that the construction of a kindergarten is currently underway in İkitelli Organized Industrial Zone and said, “As soon as it is finished, I hope our Ministry of National Education will appoint the teachers there. We will present a great opportunity to our working brothers and sisters here.” he said. Stating that parents who work in OIZs can send their children to pre-school education and kindergartens, Varank said, "This way, on the one hand, children will have access to quality pre-school education, and on the other hand, the employability of parents, especially women, will be facilitated." made its assessment. Reminding that only 2002 out of every 100 children in Turkey could attend kindergarten in 11, Varank said that this number has increased to 93 today, which is a truly revolutionary development in terms of education in Turkey.
Stating that there were 2002 organized industrial zones in Turkey in 192, this number has reached 341 today, Varank said, “We have brought organized industrial zones to all of our 81 provinces. We have provided employment opportunities to approximately 56 million citizens in more than 2,3 thousand parcels in OIZs that started production. With this project, which we will start now, we will ensure that pre-school education becomes more widespread and employment develops.” used his statements. Stating that they prepared the 2023 Industry and Technology Strategy with the vision of the National Technology Move, Varank made the following assessments: “Digital transformation and human capital are the most important pillars of this strategy. Especially the digital transformation in the industry is causing radical changes on the labor market. For this reason, we take care to design our human resources strategies with dynamic approaches in this environment where technological transformation is accelerating.”
After the speeches, Minister Özer and Minister Varank signed the cooperation protocol.
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