Student intern working on air conditioning installation dies falling from the roof

In Diyarbakır, 10th-grade student Ömer Ç., who was taken to the Auto Dealership Site for air conditioning installation, lost his life by falling from the roof.

According to amidahaber.com, the incident occurred on December 21 at the Auto Dealership Site in the 500 Evler District of Diyarbakır.

Ömer Ç., a 10th-grade student at the Şehit Abdulvahap Çokur Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, started an internship with an air conditioner technician at the beginning of the year under the Vocational Education Center (MESEM).

On December 21, Ömer Ç. lost his balance and fell from the second floor to the ground while installing the air conditioning system at the Auto Dealership Site.

Ömer Ç., who was critically injured, was transported to Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital by an ambulance called to the scene. Ömer Ç., who lost the battle for his life after 6 days, passed away on December 27. The funeral of the 17-year-old student was held at Yeniköy Cemetery.

"Negligence on the part of both the school and the workplace"

Ömer Ç.'s uncle, Serdar Kaya, stated that there was negligence on both the part of the school and the workplace in the incident. Kaya said, "The student should not have been taken to the field by the air conditioning technician, but he was taken. He should not have been given heavy tasks, but he was given. He went up to the attic to install the air conditioning system, but no safety measures were taken. My nephew fell from the second-floor suspended ceiling," he said. Kaya also added that they would file a criminal complaint.

On December 6, in Konya, 17-year-old intern student Ulaş Dumlu lost his life after falling from an electricity pole to a treatment pool while trying to fix a malfunction in the factory.

About Vocational Training Centers

Vocational Training Centers (MESEM) are vocational schools at the secondary education level, affiliated with the Ministry of National Education, established by a decision published in the Official Gazette on December 9, 2016.

Through MESEM apprenticeship training was included in formal and compulsory education. The aim of the decision was for apprentice students to learn their professions on the job through the master-apprentice relationship derived from the guild culture.

The duration of education at the Vocational Training Center is 4 years. Students receive theoretical education at school one day a week and practical training in businesses for four days. Vocational education continues from the first year to the final year. At the end of the third year, students take the journeyman exam, and at the end of the fourth year, they take the master exam.

The Ministry of National Education pays apprentice students 30% of the minimum wage, and apprentice students 50% of the minimum wage.

According to ongoing criticisms, Vocational Training Centers violate students' right to education by using them as cheap labor.They also legitimize child labor. (HA/PE)