On April 8, teachers at “project schools” were transferred to different schools in Turkey without explanation. It was announced that the terms of 38,000 teachers working at these project schools had expired. The incident naturally sparked a reaction from teachers working at these schools, and a nationwide protest by teachers began. Teachers criticized the Ministry of Education, saying that this was a political move. Students also supported the protests by staging a sit-in alongside their teachers..

The ministry’s policy was established 10 years ago. Teachers and administrators at schools designated as “Special Project” schools could apply to continue working at the same school or transfer to another school after four years of service. Despite the “application” requirement, some teachers were disadvantaged by this policy. This year, the number of teachers affected has significantly increased compared to previous years.

In Ankara’s Kuğulu Park, banners were unfurled with slogans such as “You erased those who educated us; we will erase you” and “Pleasure in the palace, oppression in schools”. One banner also featured a photo of Ali İsmail Korkmaz, who was beaten to death by police and shopkeepers during the Gezi Park protests.

The Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen) issued a statement on the matter:

"The process of appointing teachers to project schools is not based on any concrete, measurable, or objective criteria; it is shaped entirely by political and administrative discretion. The Ministry can appoint any teacher or education administrator it wants to project schools without announcing any criteria and without considering objective indicators such as seniority, service points, or professional competence. This practice has seriously undermined the sense of justice and fairness in education for years; labor, experience, and professional competence are being disregarded".

The bourgeois state brutally suppressed protests against the dismissal of workers who had completed their terms of service. Students were not allowed to leave schools, and police violence was used. The regime is once again turning its guns on the proletariat to solve the problems it has created!

Students and their protests cannot defend the rights of the proletariat on their own; they are insufficient. They cannot direct the movement toward a communist program—the program of the proletariat—but can only support the proletariat. The only blow that teachers can strike against the exploitative system that has brought them to this point is to join the general strike alongside all the other unions! Only the weapon of the strike can terrify governments and disrupt their operations.

Long live class unions! - Long live class solidarity! - Down with the system of exploitation and unemployment!