'White uniform announcement targets women teachers'

Click to read the article in Turkish

The teachers are going to wear white uniforms in the new school year announced the Minister of Education Yusuf Tekin in a provincial education evaluation meeting he participated in Urfa. 

He requested that the governors do the necessary for the teachers to wear uniforms. "Another issue is one that comes up in teachers' room meetings frequently, that our teachers dress in a way that is proper for a teacher at schools," Tekin said.  

"The Governors are makilng the necessary preperations for the white uniform so that the teachers will be dressed properly as a teacher," he said and added, "The teachers will be encouraged to wear uniforms so that they can represent their profession in a good way and be a role model for their students." 

There was criticism about the Minister's statement. 

"Teachers know how to dress"

bianet talked to the President of the Education and Science Employees Union (Eğitim Sen) President Prof. Dr. Nejla Kurul, about the new decision by the Ministry. 

Kurul recalled the statement by the Minister that "the teachers should dress in a way that is fit for a teacher." 

"We do not accept such an insult. The teachers are a group of professionals who know how to dress," she said. 

"Encouragement will turn into imposition"

Kurul also criticised the Minister for saying that they will “encourage” wearing white uniforms. 

She said, "The teachers decide how to dress and what to wear themselves in a democratic education atmosphere. An "institutional encouragement" regarding this issue will turn into imposition later. We have seen many examples of this." 

"Moreover we know that it is the clothes of the women teachers that bother the government," Kurul added. 

“How do we know that the white uniform will not turn into a black uniform in the future?" she asked. 

 "While it is a problem to interfere with the clothes of the children, how can one think of interfering with the clothes of the teachers? The teachers who wish to do so can wear uniforms, and some do, already. However this step  by the government is an effort to standardize the teachers. We will take a stand against this." 

Kurul also criticized the Ministry for not dealing with the real problems of education but instead taking up the clothes of the teachers instead. "We are inviting the Ministry to discuss the real problems," she said. (RT/PE)