CHP mayor, Istanbul governor in fresh row over poor hygiene in public schools

Duvar English

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül and main-opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Şişli District Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan has been clashing over the hygiene crisis in public schools.

The polemic between the government and opposition municipalities have been continuing to escalate, with footage coming in from all over Turkey of teachers, students or parents having to do the cleaning in public schools due to staff shortage.

Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan on Oct. 12 addressed the city council, highlighting children's nutrition issues and complaints about school hygiene. He said, "We will not send children to school hungry in Şişli. We will clean all the dirty schools. Parents are cleaning schools because the state is failing—institutions have collapsed. Just admit it."

The Education Ministry has denied hygiene issues in schools, stating that "some municipalities are creating a false perception as if there is a problem." Nonetheless, the ministry announced that 30,000 new contracted employees would be hired as cleaning staff after the school year started.

In response to Şişli Mayor Şahan’s remarks, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül stated on his X account, "We will not allow wordplay through social media municipalism."

Stating that he strives to avoid political discussions as a public administrator, the governor assessed the mayor's remarks as an "attempt to portray the state and its institutions as being in a state of incapacity" rather than engaging in political polemics.

Governor Gül noted that there were a total of 3,963 primary and secondary schools in Istanbul and a total of 18,465 cleaning personnel were employed in these schools, whose salaries were paid by the public.

“If they want to clean up, they should start with the filthy backstreets. If they have a lot of money, they can pay debts they have not paid for years,” Istanbul governor said.

Şişli Mayor Şahan on Oct. 14 responded to Governor Gül's post by sharing photos of parents cleaning schools on X.

"Our common goal is to ensure that our children receive an education in a healthy environment. They may not have informed you, but this photo is from a school in Şişli where parents are cleaning. We look to our citizens to see how public services are delivered. The citizen is the mirror of the state. What we see in this photo are parents who are forced to clean the school," the mayor underscored.