The National Education Ministry is providing conflicting answers regarding the deaths of children working under the guise of "vocational training."
These children, removed from regular schooling to join the ministry’s Vocational Education Centers (MESEM), are often exposed to dangerous working conditions, raising concerns about child labor.
Minister Yusuf Tekin has provided inconsistent responses to parliamentary questions regarding these deaths, leading to concerns about transparency and accountability within the MESEM program.
In a Jul 23 response to a parliamentary question from main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Turan Taşkın Özer, Tekin confirmed that five children had died in workplace accidents between Jan 2023 and Jun 2024.
“Five workplace accidents resulting in death occurred from the beginning of 2023 until June 2024. All the victims were male, aged 14 or older,” the minister said in his response to the inquiry. The students had been working in sectors like plumbing, metal technology, furniture design, and construction.
However, in a separate answer to CHP deputy Aliye Timisi-Ersever on Aug 20, Tekin contradicted his earlier statement, claiming that there were no fatalities within the MESEM program. He acknowledged several workplace accidents but stated, “No accidents in 2023 or 2024 have resulted in loss of life or limb.”
Reported deaths
According to the Health and Safety Labor Watch(İSİG), a watchdog organization tracking labor-related deaths, several children enrolled in the MESEM program have died in workplace accidents over the 2023-2024 school year:
- Zekai Dikici (16), died in Sept 2023 in Manisa.
- Ulaş Dumlu (17), died in Dec 2023 in Konya.
- Ömer Çakar (17), died in Dec 2023 in Diyarbakır.
- Erol Can Yavuz (15), died in Jan 2024 in Kütahya.
- Arda Tonbul (14), died in Jan 2024 in Istanbul.
- Murat Can Eryılmaz (17), died in Feb 2024 in Kilis.
- Alperen Enes Ural (17), died in May 2024 in Manisa.
- Alperen Kocayavuz (15), died in Jul 2024 in Ankara.
- Eren Dağ (16), died in Jul 2024 in Konya.
(HA/VK)