‘One cleaning worker per 800-850 students’ amid in-class education

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The Education and Science Laborers Union (Eğitim-Sen) İstanbul no. 3 Branch shared information about the recent situation in schools in the districts of Şişli, Beyoğlu, Beşiktaş, Kağıthane and Sarıyer amid in-class education during the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday (September 24).

The union has underlined that the Ministry of Education has been putting the continuation of in-class education at risk by not taking the necessary measures. According to the Eğitim-Sen, of the 55 schools, 15 schools have been giving education to two different groups of students during the first and second half of the day. While there are more than 30 students in a classroom on average in 18 schools, there are no care attendants in seven schools. The Eğitim-Sen union has indicated that there is one cleaning worker for every 800-850 students in several shools.

The union has noted that while there are hundreds of thousands of teachers awaiting their appointment to a public school, "the severest exploitation of labor as contract teachers is still ongoing." It has further underlined that "a vast majority of children are trying to get to schools by using public transportation, thereby facing the risk of getting infected with the virus."

Expressing concerns about the failure to take the necessary measures, the union has also drawn attention to some practices of "religionization, polarization and standardization" at the İstinye Anatolian High School, where the teachers' council meetings are reportedly opened with prayers and the call to prayer is recited at school corridors, and the Kurtuluş Anatolian High School, where the hours are arranged according to Friday prayers.

"Over the past week, our branch has been informed that there are several classrooms where COVID-19 cases have been detected and which have been quarantined," the union has said, warning that "these numbers will increase further if measures are not quickly implemented." (AÖ/SD)