The proposal that closely concerns millions of teachers has passed through the Parliament.

The regulation eagerly awaited by teachers has passed from the Parliament. The Teacher Profession Law Proposal, which includes the establishment of the National Education Academy, was accepted by the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) and became law, while the details of the proposal also became a matter of curiosity.

The Teacher Profession Law aims to regulate the appointments and professional development of teachers responsible for carrying out educational services, as well as their progress in career steps.

REGULATION BENEFITING 230 THOUSAND TEACHERS

After some provisions of the Teacher Profession Law, which was organized in 12 articles and came into force in 2022, were annulled by the Constitutional Court, the Teacher Profession Law Proposal submitted to the TBMM Presidency yesterday consists of 39 articles. With the new proposal, the continuation of the career practice halted by the Constitutional Court's annulment decision will be ensured. The proposal divides the teaching profession into three career steps: teacher, expert teacher, and head teacher.

IMPORTANT OBSTACLE IN CAREER STEPS REMOVED

Additionally, to obtain the title of expert teacher, a minimum of 10 years of service as a teacher will be required, and for the title of head teacher, at least 10 years of service as an expert teacher will be necessary. There will be no penalty for the suspension of step advancement, and completion of the training programs for expert teaching and head teaching provided by the academy will be required. Thus, the conditions of "written exam" and "professional work" for advancement in career steps have been removed.

Through the temporary 3rd article added to the proposal, teachers who have completed 20 years of service will be allowed to apply for the title of head teacher without the requirement of a 10-year waiting period for expert teaching. In this context, all teachers who have completed 20 years of service will be able to become head teachers, regardless of whether they are expert teachers, provided they complete the organized training. Thus, after the Teacher Profession Law is enacted, 230 thousand teachers who complete 20 years of service will have the opportunity to apply for the title of "head teacher."

According to the Teacher Profession Law, which provides significant gains for teachers, in 2022, 516,974 teachers became expert teachers, 66,679 teachers became head teachers, and in 2023, 69,881 teachers became expert teachers, while 3,891 teachers received the title of head teacher. As of today, expert teachers benefit from a training and education compensation of 4,304 lira, while head teachers receive 8,608 lira.

NEW RIGHTS FOR TEACHERS

With the proposal, the rights and responsibilities of teachers and education administrators are also defined for the first time at the legal level. With the new Teacher Profession Law (ÖMK) regulation, teachers cannot be forced to work in activities unrelated to their profession without their consent. Teachers will also benefit from all rights provided by the 657 Civil Servants Law, including the right to form unions, the right to security, and the right to withdraw. With the new ÖMK, for the first time in the history of the republic, penalties for crimes committed against teachers will be increased by half. The regulation will ensure that penalties for intentional injury, threats, insults, and resisting the execution of duty are increased by half, that the imposed prison sentence is not postponed, and that some crimes will be prosecuted while the accused is in custody. Provisions for the protection of education workers from violence will also cover teachers working in private educational institutions, expert educators, master educators, and those teaching for a fee.

NATIONAL EDUCATION ACADEMY TO BE ESTABLISHED

The National Education Academy will be established to prepare teacher candidates for the profession, to prepare, implement, and evaluate training programs for the professional development of teachers, administrators, and other personnel, as well as for their advancement in career steps and promotions.

To enhance the quality of the teacher training process, cooperation will be established with universities at all stages of the training provided at the National Education Academy. Candidates will gain experience by developing their professional skills through both theoretical and practical courses in the preparatory training. Teacher recruitment for preparatory training will be conducted based on the score superiority in the exam organized by ÖSYM. In this context, there will be no oral exam in teacher recruitment and contracted teacher appointments with the establishment of the National Education Academy.

The number of candidates to be accepted for preparatory training will be planned not to exceed the number of positions for which appointment permission is granted. For example, if 20,000 positions are allocated, 20,000 teachers will be recruited based on score superiority, and everyone who successfully completes the academy will be appointed. Teacher candidates accepted for preparatory training at the National Education Academy will be covered by general health insurance during their training period.