Interview with Kadem Özbay, President of the trade union Egitim İş.
Interview with Kadem Özbay, President of the trade union Egitim İş.
The fatal shooting of a school principal in Istanbul, attacks on teachers in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş, and a growing number of incidents involving threats, physical violence and intimidation in educational institutions have reignited a national debate in Türkiye: Why is violence increasingly reaching schools, institutions traditionally regarded as among the safest places in society?
The Ministry of National Education has responded with new training programs, anti-violence initiatives and measures aimed at increasing security. Yet many educators argue that the discussion has become narrowly focused on cameras, security guards and school entrances, while overlooking the deeper causes that produce violence in the first place.
Among those making that argument is Kadem Özbay, president of Eğitim-İş, one of Türkiye’s largest trade unions in education In a recent interview, Özbay described school violence not as a collection of isolated incidents but as the manifestation of a broader social and educational crisis.
“School violence is not a sudden deviation,” Özbay said. “These are not incidents that emerge from a momentary loss of control. They are generally foreseeable events. They are the result of political choices and structural problems.”
His analysis challenges the dominant narrative that violent incidents can be prevented simply through stronger security measures. Instead, he argues that violence in schools reflects growing inequalities, the commercialization of education, weakening public institutions and a broader loss of social trust.
A Series of Incidents That Shook the Education Sector
The debate intensified after several high-profile attacks on teachers and administrators over the past two years.
In May 2024, the killing of school principal İbrahim Oktugan in Istanbul triggered nationwide protests by teachers and education unions. Similar incidents occurred in Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa, where educators became targets of armed attacks. According to union representatives, many of the individuals involved had previously displayed warning signs that were known to school staff.
Following the incidents, the Ministry of National Education announced new efforts to combat violence in schools and initiated training programs for school administrators. Officials emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation among schools, families and public institutions. Anadolu Agency reported that all school administrators would receive training aimed at preventing violence and improving crisis management capacities.
Educational psychologists interviewed by Anadolu Agency have similarly stressed that school violence rarely emerges without warning. Many cases are preceded by long-term social, psychological or behavioral indicators that require early intervention.
These assessments align with Özbay’s argument that the issue cannot be understood solely through the lens of individual responsibility.
“If we call these events isolated incidents,” he said, “we are essentially covering up reality.”
Violence as a Reflection of Society
At the center of Özbay’s argument is the idea that schools mirror the society in which they exist.
According to him, the increase in violence within educational institutions cannot be separated from broader developments in Turkish society.
He points to declining trust in public institutions, growing economic insecurity, widening social inequalities and what he describes as a loss of confidence in the future.
“When people no longer believe that justice works, when merit loses value, when education no longer offers hope for the future, society as a whole becomes more vulnerable to violence,” he argued.
The fact that violence now appears even in schools, he said, demonstrates the seriousness of the problem.
Schools have traditionally been viewed as spaces where social conflicts are moderated through education, dialogue and shared values. When violence becomes visible inside classrooms and school corridors, Özbay believes it signals that larger social tensions have reached a critical point.
“Schools should be among the safest places in society,” he said. “If violence is appearing there, then we are facing a serious social problem.”
The Commercialization of Education
One of the most controversial aspects of Özbay’s analysis concerns the transformation of Türkiye’s education system over the past two decades.
He argues that education has increasingly been reshaped according to market principles, changing relationships among students, parents, teachers and schools.
His criticism goes beyond the growth of private education.
According to Özbay, the problem is that public schools themselves have increasingly become dependent on financial contributions from parents.
“Schools have become businesses,” he said. “Parents have become financiers, students have become customers, and teachers have been devalued.”
The union leader notes that private schools represented only a small fraction of educational institutions in the early years of the AKP government but now account for a significantly larger share of the sector.
At the same time, he argues that many public schools struggle to meet basic needs without parental support. Cleaning supplies, maintenance, security personnel and other necessities often depend on local fundraising efforts or voluntary contributions.
This, he says, creates a two-tier education system in which opportunities increasingly depend on family income.
“Education should be the institution that produces equality,” Özbay argued. “Instead, it is becoming one of the places where inequality is most visible.”
Competition Replacing Solidarity
For Özbay, the commercialization of education has transformed not only school finances but also school culture.
He argues that the education system increasingly revolves around competition rather than cooperation.
Students are encouraged to outperform one another in high-stakes examinations that determine access to elite schools and universities. Success becomes scarce, while failure carries growing consequences.
“Your closest friend becomes your competitor,” he said.
In his view, schools should help students develop social skills, empathy and collective responsibility. Instead, many students experience education as a continuous struggle for limited opportunities.
The result, Özbay argues, is a climate that can foster frustration, exclusion and social fragmentation.
Educational researchers have long noted that intense academic pressure can contribute to stress, anxiety and social isolation among students. Anadolu Agency has reported on expert concerns regarding bullying, psychological distress and the need for stronger preventive measures in schools.
For Özbay, these issues are interconnected.
When students lose confidence that education can provide a meaningful future, he argues, schools risk becoming environments characterized by competition, disappointment and alienation.
Why Security Measures Alone Are Not Enough
In the aftermath of recent attacks, calls for tighter security have become increasingly common.
Many educators support enhanced monitoring of school entrances and better control over access to educational facilities. Özbay himself acknowledges that schools require basic security mechanisms.
However, he rejects approaches that treat schools primarily as security zones.
“A school is not a police station,” he said.
His proposal is comparatively modest: designated personnel responsible for monitoring entrances and ensuring that only authorized individuals enter school premises.
Such measures, he argues, can reduce risks without fundamentally altering the educational character of schools.
But he insists that security cannot become the centerpiece of policy.
“If we only discuss cameras and gates,” he said, “we ignore the deeper causes.”
The real challenge, in his view, lies in improving the overall conditions under which schools operate.
Overcrowded Schools and Staff Shortages
One of Özbay’s primary concerns is the size of Turkish schools and classrooms.
He points to schools operating with double-shift systems, where one group of students attends in the morning and another in the afternoon because existing facilities cannot accommodate demand.
The situation, he argues, undermines both educational quality and student well-being.
“A school with two thousand students is not really a school,” he said.
International comparisons often emphasize the importance of smaller educational environments where students can develop meaningful relationships with teachers and staff. Yet in many Turkish schools, educators are responsible for extremely large student populations.
This challenge is especially visible in guidance and counseling services.
According to Özbay, some schools operate with one guidance counselor for hundreds of students.
In certain cases, counselors are assigned to multiple schools simultaneously, limiting their ability to build sustained relationships with students or intervene effectively in crises.
“World averages suggest that one guidance counselor should work with around 150 to 200 students,” he said. “We often see one counselor serving 500 students.”
For a system increasingly concerned about violence, bullying and mental health, such staffing shortages represent a major obstacle.
The Weakening of Guidance Services
Özbay repeatedly returns to the role of guidance counselors in his analysis.
He argues that many violent incidents were preceded by warning signs identified by school personnel.
Teachers submitted reports. Counselors raised concerns. Administrators documented risks.
Yet, according to Özbay, these warnings frequently failed to trigger meaningful intervention.
“In Istanbul, Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa, educators repeatedly submitted reports,” he said. “Those reports were not taken seriously.”
He believes that guidance services must be integrated more closely with social services, healthcare providers and mental health professionals.
A counselor may identify a student facing domestic violence, severe psychological distress or social isolation. However, schools often lack the institutional mechanisms necessary to translate those observations into effective support.
“A teacher cannot diagnose schizophrenia,” Özbay noted. “But when serious concerns emerge, there should be a system connecting schools to psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers.”
Such multidisciplinary approaches are widely recommended by international educational experts and have been adopted in various countries as part of broader violence-prevention strategies.
The Erosion of Teacher Authority
Another recurring theme in Özbay’s analysis is the changing social status of teachers.
He argues that educators have experienced a significant decline in public authority and professional respect.
This does not mean returning to authoritarian educational models, he emphasizes. Rather, it means recognizing teachers as professionals whose assessments carry institutional weight.
“Teachers are experts,” Özbay said.
He compares teacher reports to medical prescriptions or legal opinions, arguing that educational evaluations should receive greater attention from policymakers and administrators.
Without that recognition, he warns, schools lose one of their most important mechanisms for identifying and addressing problems before they escalate.
The Missing Role of Arts and Sports
While public debate often focuses on security, Özbay also highlights another issue he believes is being overlooked: the decline of arts, culture and sports within the education system.
He argues that schools increasingly prioritize examinations at the expense of broader developmental activities.
Music, visual arts, sports clubs and extracurricular programs have become marginal in many schools.
For students struggling socially or emotionally, these activities often provide crucial opportunities to develop confidence and belonging.
“Creating a sense of belonging is essential,” Özbay said.
He recalls earlier periods when students who struggled academically could find recognition through sports teams, artistic activities or other collective experiences.
Today, he argues, many of those opportunities have diminished.
The result is that some students become increasingly isolated from school life.
“If we focus only on punishing the perpetrator,” he said, “we ignore the conditions that brought that person to that point.”
Immediate Solutions and Long-Term Transformation
Although much of Özbay’s analysis focuses on structural causes, he also proposes practical short-term measures.
These include controlled school entrances, health personnel in schools, reduced class sizes, additional school construction projects, increased numbers of guidance counselors and stronger psychosocial support systems.
Yet he insists that such reforms must be accompanied by a broader transformation of educational philosophy.
At the heart of that transformation is the idea that schools should restore hope.
“The greatest social mental health problem is hopelessness,” he said.
For Özbay, education must once again become a pathway toward social mobility, personal development and collective progress.
He advocates a system built around equal access, public investment and social inclusion rather than market competition.
His vision reflects Eğitim-İş’s longstanding commitment to what it describes as secular, scientific, democratic, public and free education.
Whether policymakers agree with that diagnosis remains uncertain. But the growing number of violent incidents has ensured that the debate over the future of Turkish education is unlikely to disappear.
As Türkiye continues searching for ways to make schools safer, Özbay argues that the answer lies not only in protecting school buildings but also in rebuilding the social foundations that make education meaningful.
“Schools are mirrors of society,” he said. “If there is violence in schools, then violence exists throughout society. Protecting education means protecting the future.”