Thousands of teachers took to the streets across Turkey on Thursday, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Yusuf Tekin after two school shootings in as many days left the country reeling and renewed concerns about safety in schools, Turkish Minute reported.
The protests came as funerals were held in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş for victims of Wednesday’s school shooting, in which nine people, eight children and a teacher, were killed by a 14-year-old student.
The attack followed a shooting a day earlier in Şanlıurfa that left 16 people wounded.
The suspects in both cases were also killed, authorities have said, with the first attacker taking his own life when cornered by police.
Teachers and union members attempted to march to the Ministry of Education in Ankara but were blocked by police barricades.
When officers refused to allow them to proceed, the demonstrators staged a sit-in near a metro station, chanting slogans calling on Education Minister Yusuf Tekin to resign and saying, “Shoulder to shoulder against violence,” “Blood has stained my profession” and “Where were you while the children were dying?”
The protest reflected mounting anger over what educators described as longstanding security failures in schools.
“We are being killed in schools. Our children are being killed,” said Kadem Özbay, head of the Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen), speaking in front of police lines.
“If even one of our colleagues is harmed, we will not forget those responsible.”
Teachers said they had sought a partial route to the ministry building during negotiations with police but were denied.
After waiting for about an hour, demonstrators filled the roadway and continued their march, at times blocking traffic, before launching a sit-in when access to central Güvenpark was also prevented.
Similar protests were held in other cities, including İstanbul, where teachers gathered outside the provincial education directorate carrying signs reading “End violence in schools” and “Safe schools, safe education.”
Students from the Galatasaray University also joined demonstrations, marching in support in the Beşiktaş district.
Minister Tekin, who has served in the post since June 2023, has shown no sign of intending to resign.
He said the incidents had “deeply shaken” the country and pledged that measures would be taken to prevent similar attacks, including updated security protocols in coordination with other ministries.
But teachers and unions said such assurances were insufficient, pointing to a pattern of violence in schools in recent years.
Union representatives cited multiple incidents, including fatal and non-fatal attacks on teachers by students or parents, saying that schools had become increasingly unsafe despite previous government promises to introduce stronger protections.
“Today we are in mourning for our profession and our children,” Özbay said. “But we are also in revolt. We will not forget, and we will not forgive.”
Although school shootings in Turkey are rare, the latest attacks come amid growing alarm over youth-related violent crime in Turkey.
In March a 17-year-old student fatally stabbed teacher Fatma Nur Çelik at a high school in the city’s Çekmeköy district. The killing attracted particular attention because Çelik had reportedly raised concerns about school safety after a separate stabbing incident at the same school last year.
In May 2024 thousands of teachers staged protests after İstanbul high school principal İbrahim Oktugan was shot dead by a former student, prompting nationwide calls for legislation aimed at preventing violence in schools.
