10.06.2026 11:41
A 25-year-old kindergarten teacher, Irmak Ayşe Koparan, in Ağrı was subjected to systematic violence and insults, allegedly because she opposed the principal beating children. Despite her complaints, the administrators protected the principal, and the young teacher was exiled 80 km away. Spending 3,000 TL daily on taxi fares from her salary and psychologically exhausted, Teacher Irmak was found dead in her home. She left behind audio recordings describing the brutality she endured.
Irmak Ayşe Koparan, a 25-year-old kindergarten teacher working in Ağrı, lost her life, allegedly unable to endure the systematic pressure, insults, physical violence, and subsequent 'exile' decision imposed by the school principal. The audio recordings and WhatsApp messages that emerged after the young teacher's death caused outrage in the education community and deeply wounded consciences.
TARGETED WHILE TRYING TO PROTECT CHILDREN According to allegations, the events began when kindergarten teacher Irmak Ayşe Koparan reacted to the school principal Melahat İleri's violence against young children. The young teacher, who wanted to protect the children, became the principal's target from that moment on. The horror she experienced was captured in audio recordings she sent to her relatives before her death: 'I was kicked out of the principal's office. She insulted me, calling me a gypsy, a retard, and saying I have an inferiority complex.'
ADMINISTRATORS PROTECTED THE 'BULLY' PRINCIPAL Subjected to systematic and psychological violence, Teacher Irmak sought her rights through every possible means. She wrote official petitions, held individual meetings with relevant authorities, and even enlisted intermediaries to make her voice heard. However, according to allegations, the relevant administrators and authorities shielded school principal Melahat İleri instead of heeding the young teacher's cries. The grieving sister, Rabia Bayraklı, who called for justice after her sister's death, summarized the scandal: 'My sister was subjected to violence, she complained, but the administrators protected the principal. They made her suffer right under their noses.'
Principal Melahat İleri, at the center of the violence and pressure allegations... 3,000 TL TAXI FARE EVERY DAY! As if the mobbing and physical violence were not enough, the young teacher was punished for raising her voice and exiled to another school fully 80 kilometers away from her original school. Forced to commute this distance daily on her already limited contract teacher salary, Teacher Irmak began paying 3,000 TL daily for taxi fare to reach the school where she was exiled. Completely exhausted financially and emotionally, reportedly withdrawn and constantly crying in her final days, the young teacher was found dead in her home the day before yesterday.
CONFESSION OF VIOLENCE IN WHATSAPP GROUP It emerged that Teacher Irmak, some time before her death, had written in detail about the overt physical violence and mobbing she suffered in a WhatsApp group of other teachers. This organized pressure and tragic death of a young educator due to her idealism has become a scandal in Turkey's agenda, demanding urgent action from the Ministry of National Education and judicial authorities. Statements from the parties and judicial authorities are eagerly awaited.