Teachers who were victims of the interview process, reacting to Minister Tekin, cried uncontrollably in front of the camera.

While the budget discussions of the Ministry of National Education continue in the Planning and Budget Commission, teachers who are victims of the interview process held a press conference in the garden of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) to express their grievances. The teachers were supported by CHP Deputy Chairman and Istanbul MP Suat Özçağdaş, CHP Malatya MP Veli Ağbaba, CHP Kayseri MP Aşkın Genç, CHP Manisa MP Ahmet Vehbi Bakırlıoğlu, and İYİ Party Bursa MP Selçuk Türkoğlu.

THEY PROTESTED THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL EDUCATION

Teachers who stated that they were eliminated in the interview despite scoring high in the KPSS protested Minister Yusuf Tekin in the TBMM, where they tried to make their voices heard. Sevgi Süre, a Social Studies Teacher, shared her experience: "I scored 80.98 in my field and ranked 517th. I took the interviews in Istanbul. Three questions were asked, and I answered all three correctly. The professors in the commission welcomed me, saying, 'Welcome to our group.' They said, 'Your interview went very well. Congratulations. Which province will you choose?' I thought all summer about which province to write. My interview had gone well, and I was within the quota. When the scores were announced, friends who scored 77 points from Diyarbakır, Erzurum, and İzmir surpassed me. Then we learned that in cities like Istanbul and Bursa, scores were either rounded down or had a 1-2 point increase. In İzmir, an additional 5-10 points were added. While we received an additional 1 point, how could they receive an additional 12 points? Until now, we always held onto hope. We said, 'Our rights will not be violated.' We trusted the minister. Now the results have been announced. 754 people were supposed to be accepted in my quota. I am currently outside the quota as the 812th person. Normally, I was the 517th person, but now I am the 812th and have been eliminated. If my interview had gone poorly, I would say, 'My interview went poorly, that's why I was eliminated.' But that is not the case.

"YOU SAID INTERVIEW, WE SAT DOWN AND STUDIED FOR IT"

I am a teacher who has been working in the private sector for 12 years. The conditions in the private sector are very harsh. I go to work at 9 in the morning and leave at 7 in the evening. When January comes, I receive minimum wage. Is this fair? We do not accept this system. You said interview, we sat down and studied for it. We sacrificed everything from our family, friends, and leisure time. We prepared as you said, fighting in your system. Yet it still didn't work. What do they want us to do? What do they want from us?

"WE BECAME VICTIMS OF THE CITY WE ENTERED"

Eda Nur, a Religion Culture and Ethics teacher who took the interview in Bursa, claimed: "There are 56,000 people in my field. I ranked 1,085th. My score was rounded down just because I took the interview in Bursa. I was given 0.2 points, and my ranking dropped to around 2,100. 1,500 people are being accepted in my field. I was 1,085th among 1,500 people. I was left out just because I took the interview in Bursa. If these young people cannot trust the minister's word, who will we trust? We became victims of the city we entered. We lost 1.5 years of our lives. Who will we trust?

"WHAT IS MY FAULT?"

Literature teacher Tuğba Sağır expressed her frustration, asking, "Why am I being eliminated? Why are you eliminating me?" She said, "I ranked 724th among 41,000 candidates in my field. My score was rounded down, and I was given 0.73 points, so my current ranking is 1,102. I am outside the quota. I took the interview in Kocaeli. In Kocaeli, every candidate in the 7th Commission had their scores rounded down. I am a victim of the 7th Commission. If I had taken the exam in the 5th Commission, I might have scored 5-6 points higher. What is my fault? I gave my child a phone to study. I passed the exam this way, I was patient. Why am I being eliminated? Why are you eliminating me? This is a huge injustice.

"THEY ARE OPENLY INFRINGING ON THE RIGHTS OF 5,000 PEOPLE"

Teacher Özkan Özdemir made the following claims: "For weeks, we have been trying to deliver the documents one by one to the relevant parties. Deputy Minister Nazif Yılmaz said on the phone, 'Some of our commissions are generous, while others have been stingy.' We met with group vice presidents. People are being eliminated in Istanbul and Bursa. They are all aware of it. They said, 'We did everything transparently.' The Deputy Minister said, 'We don't know how we will get out of this.' I openly say, let them sue, let them complain. I don't care. They are openly infringing on the rights of 5,000 people. They admitted it. There are 245 commissions that are not similar to each other. What is not liked in Istanbul, they said, 'You are very good' in Erzurum. While people are in distress, they have turned a deaf ear to these grievances. They don't even take us seriously. They say, 'We did it, we trust ourselves.' Their own bureaucrat doesn't know how to get out of this. Today, they brought it to a conclusion. After coming here, we understood that it was the people's problem, and they don't care about it. 'Let me have my chair, my salary, my reputation. The rest doesn't matter.'

"THERE ARE 85,000 PAID TEACHERS IN A SLAVERY SYSTEM"

CHP's Suat Özçağdaş, responsible for the Ministry of National Education, also supported the teachers, saying: "The entire process started on April 11, 2023. The President said to 1 million unappointed teachers, 'Vote for us. We abolished the interview.' The then Minister of National Education also said this. Even this Minister said, 'You don't need to take the KPSS.' Those who received the votes of these young people decided to conduct interviews as if they had never said this. We warned for months. It is impossible to maintain a standard in 245 different commissions. These teachers studied for months. Some say, 'I have a 4-year-old child. I have been constantly distracting my child to study since he was 2 years old.' Is there such a lack of conscience? I call on the Minister. 23,670 people retired last year. This time you are appointing 20,000 people. The required number is much higher. Appointments should not be made based on interview scores. If they are not going to give up on their interviews, damn their interviews. Another of their promises was to appoint as many teachers as there are retirees. They have not appointed teachers for 568 days.

If you are not going to hire with interviews, or if you say that others have rights, then the number of retirees was already high. There are 85 thousand paid teachers in a slavery system. This means there is a need for teachers. It is possible to address the grievances of these teachers. Appoint all of them.

İYİ Party Bursa Deputy Selçuk Türkoğlu also stated, "We are facing the most disgraceful, heartless, and immoral interview practice in history. These colleagues do not want anything extra. They do not want favoritism or jobs. They want their usurped rights to be returned to them as soon as possible. There should not be such an interview practice. These interviews and appointments should be canceled. Appointments should be made based on KPSS scores so that everyone is satisfied with their rights and entitlements. There is no such violation of rights or exploitation of labor anywhere in the world."