Minister Tekin played dodgeball and tug-of-war with the students.

07.10.2025 19:13

A "Palestine Awareness Event" was organized in all schools in Turkey. The Minister of National Education, Yusuf Tekin, visited some schools in Erzurum, where he played dodgeball and tug-of-war with the students. Tekin later attended the signing ceremony of the "Healthy Smile Erzurum" protocol.

Today, "Palestine Awareness Event" was held in all schools in Turkey. Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin visited some schools in Erzurum and closely interacted with the students.

MINISTER TEKİN PLAYED YAKANTOP AND PULLED ROPE

Minister Tekin played yakantop with students at Şehit Murat Ellik Primary School in the Palandöken district. While pulling rope with students in the schoolyard, Minister Tekin attended the signing ceremony of the 'Healthy Smile Erzurum' protocol.

Tekin held a closed meeting with teachers and made a surprise visit to Şükrüpaşa Middle School in the Şükrüpaşa neighborhood where he spent his childhood. Chatting with students who had balloons saying 'Freedom for Palestine', Tekin explained the importance of learning Turkish in a classroom he entered.

"NOW EXAMS ARE CONDUCTED ON 4 BASIC SKILLS"

Expressing that they made changes in Turkish and Turkish Language and Literature classes when they took office, Tekin said, "We changed both the passing grade and the assessment methodology. Now exams are conducted based on 4 basic skills. You are tested on reading comprehension, listening, speaking, and writing. If you cannot express yourself correctly, you cannot understand what you read correctly. You cannot succeed in the exams you take throughout your life, nor can you express yourself correctly in the social life you live. In this case, you will always be unsuccessful in life. We want you to express yourself correctly in your mother tongue," he said. Tekin visited classrooms and met with students, holding a closed meeting with teachers.

STUDENTS WELCOMED MINISTER TEKİN WITH A PALESTINIAN SCARF

Students welcomed Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, who attended the event at Ömer Duygun Primary School in Erzurum, by wearing Palestinian scarves. Observing students painting on a canvas spread on the ground and writing about Palestine with the students he brought along, Minister Tekin chatted with them. While entering a classroom he visited, he was greeted with the poem 'Mescid-i Aksa'. Congratulating the student who recited the poem, Minister Tekin watched the lesson being taught for a while.

"STANDING BY THE OPPRESSED IS A VALUE FOR US"

Minister Tekin stated that Palestinians are subjected to the oppression of Israeli savagery, saying, "It is our duty to uphold the tradition of standing by the oppressed that our ancestors left us; this is a value for us. Today, as a requirement of our respect for our ancestors, we must do this. Wherever in the world there is a child whose rights have been taken away, or a person whose freedom of life has been taken away, or a person who is groaning under oppression, we have always stood by them," he said.

"WE NEED TO RAISE INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL SERVE HUMANITY"

Meeting with teachers at Ömer Duygun Primary School, Minister Tekin said:

"We want to establish peace, human rights, and democracy in the world. Who can do this? I say that our education systems are such that children go to schools all over the world. They receive education. If we teach these children peace, human rights, democracy, and respect for others' rights, will there be wars? Therefore, I now say that we should not only talk about education methodology, artificial intelligence in education, and technology in our schools, but also in the international meetings we attend with education ministers. Yes, let's talk about education methodology, let's talk about artificial intelligence in education, let's talk about technology. But why are we doing all this? Why are we taking children to school, why are we educating them? Do we want to raise career monsters? Do we want to raise savages who only think of their own interests? If they are not going to think of others, if they are not going to think of the rights and laws of the person in front of them, why are we educating children? Why are we raising beings that will harm others, kill humanity, create weapons, and lack human values? Why are we shooting ourselves in the foot? The fundamental quality of education systems must create awareness about human rights, democracy, peace, and coexistence in the world, and we must do the work that will provide this in our schools.

We must write this at the top of our curricula, we must say this. We must say that we need to raise individuals who will serve humanity, prioritize human values, and make this world livable for all of us. Then we can discuss how we will do this. However, if we forget our main parameter, our main proposition, then we end up raising individuals devoid of that value, and today we have savages who kill thousands of people, thousands of children. Structures and political powers emerge that kill people anywhere in the world for their own interests."

"WE ARE TRYING TO CREATE AWARENESS"

Minister Tekin stated that they have taken a step to prevent these with the Turkey Century Education Model, saying, "While defending this on the international stage, yes, we will also include all the elements required by modern educational technologies and modern methodologies in education in our education system."

But while doing all this, we have placed the question of why we are doing these things as the main paradigm above. We say that we are doing all this to serve humanity; our state tradition and our societal tradition already dictate this to us. It dictates that we behave this way. Today, while doing all this, what we want, that is, while standing by the cause of our brothers in Palestine, is that the Turkish state tradition, which our ancestors left as a legacy, urges us to help anyone in the world who is oppressed. This is a matter that is a legacy from our ancestors for us. Today, we are doing this on one hand. On the other hand, we are trying to create awareness that will uphold the common values of humanity in the world. For this reason, we wanted to hold this event in our schools today. That is, because it is October 7th. Look, friends, in these 2 years, approximately one child was killed by Israel every 52 minutes, most of whom are under one year old. What harm could these children have caused? Apart from those whose right to life has been taken away, those who have been disabled, those who have become orphans because their parents were martyred, and those who have been deprived of their right to education. We do not know them; we are not aware of the magnitude of the damage there," he said.

Minister Tekin, who held a closed meeting with teachers for a while, made a statement after school dismissal.

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin visited the Eastern Anatolia Journalists Association at the end of his Erzurum program. Tekin chatted with President Ayhan Türkez, board members, and press members.