Turkey's Education Ministry announces 30,000 new cleaning personnel upon hygiene crisis

Duvar English

Turkey’s Education Ministry (MEB) on Sept. 21 announced that 30,000 new cleaning personnel would be hired in public schools across the country. The announcement followed the public outcry about poor hygiene conditions since the beginning of the school year.

Minister Yusuf Tekin announced during a television program that the Labor and Social Security Ministry would grant the right to employ 30,000 cleaning personnel in schools starting Sept. 23, according to reporting by the daily BirGün. 

Tekin explained that although there were 120,000 available positions, only 25 percent of them were filled, attributing the shortage of cleaning staff to limited applications to the Workforce Adaptation Program.

“Due to this lack of demand, such an issue has emerged in our schools. As of Monday, 30,000 cleaning personnel will be hired by Wednesday. We will resolve the issue with additional personnel next week,” Tekin said.

Tekin noted that 45,000 schools had permanent cleaning staff, and the remaining schools worked with contractors. 

“A problem arose after contractors were granted permanent staff status,” stated the minister. 

According to Tekin, the Labor Ministry in 2024 revised its cleaning staff pool allocations to three days a week instead of five days a week. 

Since the start of the school year on Sept. 16, parents have been reporting problems about hygiene and lacking personnel across Turkey.

An elementary school in Istanbul, trash piles have accumulated in the hallways, and according to parents' claims, there was no running water at the school. In response to the situation, parents filed complaints with the presidential communication system CİMER.

One parent wrote to CİMER, "The water is not running, and the faucets in the bathrooms are broken. Our children are constantly getting sick. We urgently need support on this matter."

Another parent stated, "The school is very poor in terms of hygiene and safety. I request that the school be made suitable for the children."

Parents also claimed that the principal resigned due to the cleaning issues. 

Another parent speaking to the daily Evrensel in early September stated that parents were called upon to clean the school due to the shortage of cleaning staff this year.

"Teachers called each parent individually, asking us to come to the school to clean. We are asked to pay for both cleaning supplies and staff wages, yet they tell us there’s no budget, and we are expected to clean the school ourselves. As mothers, we cleaned our children's classrooms before classes started," she said.