On April 15, in the city of Maraş in southern Turkey, a student took his father’s five firearms and entered his own school, killing one teacher and seven students.
The 18-year-old student, whose father is a police chief, had previously been taught by his father how to use firearms.
In recent times, thousands of teachers and students have warned about the increasing violence in schools and have linked this back to the policies of the Ministry of Education. Teachers are not just reacting to individual violent incidents, but to systemic government policies that have made schools less safe over time.
Teachers, students and families gathered in front of the Ministry in the capital, Ankara, to protest the attack and demand the resignation of Minister Yusuf Tekin.
While police attacked the teachers, students also gathered in many cities across the country saying, “We don’t want to die in schools,” and called on the government to take measures to ensure safety in schools.
Education unions, meanwhile, are holding a continuous vigil day and night in front of the Ministry, calling for the minister’s resignation. Teachers, who have been continuing their protests for the past four days, stated that they had warned authorities many times before, but their warnings were ignored, and they are demanding the minister’s immediate resignation.
