ETUCE and Education International stand in solidarity with education unions in Türkiye
The European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) and Education International (EI) express their full solidarity with education workers, students, and their families in Türkiye following the recent tragic violence affecting schools.
Education must take place in safe and supportive environments. Schools are public spaces where students have the right to learn without fear and education workers have the right to carry out their professional duties in security and dignity. Ensuring the physical and mental well being of education communities is a fundamental public responsibility.
ETUCE and EI stand firmly with their member organisation Eğitim Sen and fully support its decision to organise an extraordinary two day work stoppage, as well as the continuous “Vigil for Life” protest in front of the Ministry of National Education in Ankara. These actions reflect the urgency of the situation and the legitimate demand for accountability and effective measures to guarantee safe schools.
Violence in education cannot be addressed through security measures alone. Preventing such acts requires comprehensive public policies, effective prevention and support mechanisms, and genuine social dialogue with education trade unions.
Education is a public good and a fundamental human right. The international education trade union movement stands united with education workers in Türkiye and will continue to support their calls for safe, inclusive, and publicly supported education systems.
Schools are public spaces where children, young people, and education workers should be able to feel safe. However, it is clear that in Turkey today, these spaces are becoming increasingly unsafe and are losing their protective nature. It must also be understood that violence cannot be prevented by physical security measures alone. Because violence emerges under conditions where social inequalities deepen, a sense of hopelessness spreads, young people’s connection to education weakens, and exclusion becomes normalized. The departure of education policies from scientific and public foundations, along with the loss of social standing among schools and educational stakeholders, further exacerbates this situation. The political power in Turkey, which has deepened inequalities in the education system and eroded its public nature; the administrative approach that has rendered all institutions dysfunctional and weakened oversight and support mechanisms; and the administrators responsible for this process are directly accountable for the current situation and must be held accountable before the public. As the Education and Science Workers’ Union (EGITIM SEN), we are going on three day work stoppage on April 15, 16, and 17, alongside all unions affiliated with our confederation, KESK, to ensure that the tragedies unfolding in Siverek, Maraş, and across the country are never repeated, and to defend life against violence by harnessing the power derived from our labor. We also invite all our international friends to join us in solidarity with the ‘Vigil for Life’ protest, which we launched on April 15 in front of the Ministry of National Education in Ankara as an indefinite action to defend our right to life, demand safe schools, and support the struggle for public education.
