French Language Teachers in Istanbul Go On Strike

Istanbul's French language teachers from Galatasaray and Marmara Universities went on a one-day strike today after MICEL, Education and Language Cooperation Mission, introduced a new contract that ended most teachers' working permits by the end of 2013.

There are currently 56 instructors contracted under MICEL in Turkey. Striker teachers demand the cancellation of new contract in order to continue working.

In 2009, the French government introduced a new contract for its teachers working under MICEL that restricted their working permits to 4 years.

This morning, roughly 35 teachers assembled at French Consulate in Istanbul, where they were received by the consul. The consulate, however, did not allow the press to cover the talks.  

In a statement, the consulate said they will forward teachers' demands to French Embassy in Ankara and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

Eğitim-Sen and its university representatives released a statement supporting the strike.

"This new contract creates challenges for teachers to adapt to the education system in Turkey," Levent Yüksel, a MICEL contracted teacher, said. "It also makes impossible for teachers to adapt to Turkey. The adaptation period takes averagely 3 years. This way, teachers lose their jobs almost right after their adaptation period. There is no way that a teacher can efficiently work under these conditions."

Other teachers also added that more teachers will lose their jobs by the time the new contract will effectuate in the years to come. (BK/HK/BM)