A circular was sent to all provinces by the Ministry of National Education regarding the activities to be carried out in the 2024-2025 academic year.
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According to the circular titled "Work and procedures regarding the 2024-2025 academic year" published with the signature of Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, the 2024-2025 academic year will begin on Monday, September 9, 2024.
The excuse and optional reassignment procedures of teachers will be carried out within this month. Thus, the reassignment process of administrators and teachers will be completed with the beginning of the academic year. In addition, all necessary preparations for the holding of board/group meetings, which are placed at the center of decision-making mechanisms, will be planned in advance and the process will be carried out meticulously.
"Türkiye Century Education Model" curriculum will be implemented in the 2024-2025 academic year at pre-school, primary school 1st, secondary school 5th, secondary school preparatory and 9th grade levels.
Within the scope of the "Turkey Century Education Model", an additional circular covering issues such as education programs, educator training, teacher training, textbooks, teaching materials, measurement, monitoring and evaluation processes will also be published. The work and procedures related to the model will be carried out within the scope of the relevant circular. The necessary measures will be taken by the governorships regarding the Vocational and Technical Education Policy Document, which was prepared with the aim of contributing to the development and prosperity of Turkey and entered into force with the Presidential Circular on August 10.
No registration fee will be charged for student registration.
According to the circular, the middle schools that will be opened for the first time this year within the vocational and technical Anatolian high schools will be planned in line with the physical conditions of the school and the middle school needs of the region. In determining the educational environments and physical conditions, studies will be carried out with the coordination of the relevant general directorate, taking into account pedagogical principles.
In order to create a healthy and safe education environment in schools, the preparation for education, maintenance, repair and cleaning works of schools/institutions will be reviewed by the provincial/district national education directorates through field visits so that no school/institution is neglected, and any deficiencies will be completed.
No registration fee or other mandatory fee will be collected during student registration. Complaints regarding such practices will be promptly evaluated by the governorships and necessary actions will be taken.
In districts where teachers are on duty by the provincial directorates of national education, no assignment will be made to educational institutions located in another district without a compelling excuse when there is a need for teachers in their field. Contract teachers will not be assigned to duties other than teaching duties or educational institution management. In addition, necessary care will be taken not to assign teachers in return for lesson fees in areas where there are more teachers than the norm staff in the district.
After determining the branch and class teachers of the students who are registered or transferred to the 1st grade of primary school and 5th grade of secondary school within the primary school and the branches of the students who are at the secondary school level via e-School, the work and transactions to be carried out will be carried out centrally.
In case of a decrease in class sizes during the academic year, the relevant class branches will be merged by taking the necessary measures to ensure efficient use of resources, and the branches with no more students will be closed.
Class mother apps will not be allowed
According to the circular, the governorships will take the necessary measures to ensure that materials other than those distributed free of charge by the Ministry are not advertised or promoted in schools, that students do not accept them, and that practices that will create a financial burden on parents are avoided.
Sensitivity will be shown to the procedures and principles regarding the attire of students in pre-school, primary school, secondary school and high school affiliated to the Ministry of National Education; to ensure that teachers, administrators and school staff are role models for students in their attire, and to the importance of the attitudes and behaviors required by the teaching profession and working in educational institutions.
Notifications to parents of students who are absent from school will be made via post, e-mail and/or information technology tools in accordance with the relevant legislation; a prevention, intervention and guidance committee will be established for students at risk of repeating a grade and the necessary work and procedures will be carried out.
Necessary measures will be taken to ensure that elective courses are chosen according to students’ interests, talents and desires and processed into the e-School system. Parents will be informed continuously and regularly about the activities to be implemented by the Ministry in the new term and the work carried out in the school through digital parent bulletins. Applications under the names of class mothers and similar names will not be allowed in educational institutions.
One of the important priorities in the new academic year will be to increase the contribution of families to the academic and social development processes of students. In activities such as school openings and parent meetings, especially in family school studies initiated by the Directorate General for Lifelong Learning, videos and digital content on EBA that emphasize the importance of parents and family environments in education will be used.
As in the previous year, plans will be made by the school administration this year to ensure that parents’ visits to schools and meetings with teachers are qualified, regular and healthy. These visits will be carried out through the Ministry’s School Appointment System in a way that will not disrupt educational activities. Necessary measures will be taken to ensure that parents are not present in the school, except for planned face-to-face or online meetings and interviews.
Social activities organized in public and private schools will be compliant with the general and specific purposes specified in the National Education Fundamental Law; activities and celebrations that are contrary to national and moral values and do not contribute to the psychosocial development of students will not be held. The clubs chosen by students, scientific, social, cultural, artistic and sports activities they participate in, community service activities, social responsibility program activities will be recorded in the "Social Activity Module" in the e-School Management Information System throughout the academic year.
Especially in the basic education level, the educational value of the game, its psychological and sociological function, its contribution to the transfer of culture between generations, its effect on personality development, the dimension of the value transfer that occurs in terms of gaining etiquette through natural means, etc. will be taken into consideration and students will be directed to the game. In this context, the books Face to Face 100 Children's Games and Having Fun in Healthy School Gardens (SOBE) prepared by the Ministry will be used. Before the schools open, the playgrounds, game visuals and game lines in the school gardens will be reviewed and deficiencies will be completed.
In schools, activities will be held to raise awareness on topics such as cleanliness, awareness of obesity, development of balanced and healthy eating habits, encouragement of physical activities, disaster awareness, first aid, traffic culture, and combating addiction and violence, depending on the level of the students.
The "My School is Clean" certification program will continue to be implemented throughout the year by making plans in accordance with the Guide for the Development of Hygiene Conditions, Infection Prevention and Control in Educational Institutions, prepared in cooperation with the Ministry and the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE).
In order to raise awareness about climate change and environmental problems, emphasis will be placed on the dissemination of sustainability education and practices in schools. In this context, awareness training will be provided in areas such as energy saving, energy monitoring, water saving, waste management, environmental awareness education and increasing green areas, etc. in order to increase energy efficiency, use resources efficiently, develop environmentally friendly schools, and periodically reduce unnecessary energy consumption in order to register schools with the "Green Flag".
Process-oriented measurement and evaluation practices will be adopted.
According to the Circular, the activities to be organized for primary school 1st grade students to learn reading and writing will be planned after the second week of May for all 1st grade students in the school.
Exam time application in primary schools has been abolished
Students will not be given any short-term exams with multiple-choice questions, readiness exams, screening exams, etc. Instead of a result-oriented assessment and evaluation approach, process-oriented assessment and evaluation practices will be adopted, students' social and academic developments will be continuously monitored, and assessment tools appropriate to the course content will be used.
In order to monitor students throughout the process, feedback will be given regarding their missing or incorrect learning and the learning/teaching processes will be managed accordingly.
Activities will be planned to help students gain an active reader identity and to develop and spread the culture of reading, and more efficient use of school libraries will be ensured. In order to develop students’ research and reading skills, family elders and family members will be encouraged to read books at home.
Within the scope of the Richness of Our Language Project, which was launched the previous year and helps students get to know the richness of Turkish, get to know the words that carry our culture, use Turkish correctly, beautifully and well, and develop their world of thought, care will be taken to ensure that the activities planned in public and private schools/institutions are carried out in accordance with their purpose.
Studies will be carried out to increase solidarity and cooperation among students and to develop peer support by scientific, sports, social, cultural activities, social responsibility and volunteer programs in schools. Necessary measures will be taken with the school guidance unit to solve possible problems among students, peer bullying etc. will not be tolerated, and efforts will be made to prevent family arguments and violent incidents that may occur within this framework.
The practice of not allowing mobile phones in classrooms will continue.
Guidance efforts will be focused on students to make proper use of digital opportunities. The practice of not having mobile phones in the classroom, which was started the previous year, will continue. Measures will be taken to prevent mobile phones from being used in a way that disrupts lessons in the school. The use of social media applications will be avoided for homework or similar notifications, and necessary information will be provided to students and parents in this regard.
Graduation day events planned by public/private educational institutions will not include events that will be a burden on parents and schools. Appropriate venues and/or areas of schools and provincial/district directorates will be used with prior permission for the events, and graduation events will not be held in venues outside the school/institution.
In-school and out-of-school activities will be planned so that students can know and protect the city they live in, the abstract and concrete historical/cultural heritage and values of their city. In this context, the "Our City" course and book included in the weekly course schedule at the primary school level will be used; events will be organized for students to visit historical artifacts and mosques, museums and archaeological sites, castles, martyrs' cemeteries, libraries, science centers, universities, etc. in our cities.
The work and procedures for the implementation of the letters sent to the governorships of 81 provinces for the effective and efficient implementation of the "Multiple Foreign Language Education Model" will be carried out by the provincial/district national education directorates and school principals.
Necessary measures will be taken by the school administration and guidance units in cooperation with RAMs regarding the access to education and adaptation of students who continue their education through full-time integration/integration. Plans will be made by evaluating the level of the current special education classes in schools, the type of disability of the registered students (hearing disability, visual disability, physical disability, multiple disability, mild mental disability, mild autism spectrum disorder, moderate-severe mental disability, moderate-severe autism spectrum disorder, etc.), the capacity of the classes, the access of students to education through transportation, and the student capacities of the special education schools in the settlement.
In addition, the status of students receiving education at home or in the hospital will be fully recorded in the e-School Management Information System and the necessary planning for educational services will be made.
Students will be enabled to reveal the skills they are prone to
The "Craft Workshops", which were put into practice for the first time this year, will be carried out in line with the application guide, and care will be taken to introduce the program in secondary schools with the opening of schools and to direct willing students to the activities in the workshop during extracurricular hours.
In preschool education institutions and primary schools, emphasis will be placed on learning by doing and experiencing in order to support the fine muscle development of students at each grade level, develop their motor skills, create environments where they can express themselves, increase their self-confidence, and ensure that the skills they are prone to at an early age emerge.
Information on teachers and students who go abroad within the scope of Erasmus+ projects and all other international projects carried out by provincial R&D units will be entered into the Ministry's Project and Protocol Tracking System before going on country visits, and mission reports containing good examples observed in the countries visited after the visit will be sent to the relevant unit through the same system. In order to effectively monitor the activities of public and private schools with which sister school relationships have been established within the scope of the International Sister School Application, sister school lists and activities will be closely monitored by provincial/district/school directorates and archived by being processed in the Sister School Module.
Public and private schools that wish to apply for the international diploma and certificate program must obtain written approval/permission from the general directorate to which they are affiliated before initiating the application process for the program.
In order to ensure the full use of the capacities of school/institution buildings and classrooms, necessary measures will be taken regarding the merging of schools and institutions, changing school types, swapping of buildings and development of alternative solution proposals. School buildings will not be used for purposes other than education and training, and in case of need, actions will be taken with the knowledge and approval of the Ministry.
While the educational areas allocated to the services of the Ministry in the zoning plans should be put into public service free of charge by separating them from the Regulation Partnership Shares (DOP) within the 5-year zoning program period to be prepared by the municipality in accordance with Article 10 of the Zoning Law No. 3194 and in accordance with Article 18 of the said Law, the necessary follow-up in this regard with the municipalities will be carried out by the governorships and the places for which no annual zoning program has been prepared by the municipalities or which cannot be put into public service within the scope of DOP within the zoning program period will be reported to the Ministry.
According to the Circular, in order to carry out the activities of public education centers in a predictable and planned manner and to operate an effective control mechanism in the courses, the courses to be opened by public education centers will be planned by taking into consideration the provincial/district population, demographic structure, geographical features, labor market needs and institutional capacity of public education centers.
Studies regarding places providing education and accommodation services without permission will be carried out as specified in the Ministry's Circular No. 2023/26. Institutions that have obtained an institution opening permit and a business opening and operating license but operate outside their purpose will be processed within the framework of the relevant articles of Law No. 5580. The transformation processes of institutions that wish to transform into another private education institution will be closely monitored.
The registration status of students staying in private dormitories and boarding houses that provide student accommodation services and the work permits of employees working in these institutions will be checked during the time the students are in the dormitory.
The results of the inspections to be carried out within the scope of the 5th paragraph of the 10th article of the Secondary School and Secondary Education Institutions Special Accommodation Services Regulation will be entered into the system, and if any situations contrary to the legislation are detected, the necessary actions will be taken.
Transfers to students in disaster areas will continue
The practice of placing students receiving secondary education in disaster-affected provinces in schools across the country by provincial/district transfer committees in order to ensure their access to education at a higher level will continue this year in the provinces of Adıyaman, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Malatya, Osmaniye and the İslahiye and Nurdağı districts of Gaziantep.
In addition to the planned continuation of maintenance-repair, reinforcement and new construction works carried out to bring the education infrastructure to a better state than before the earthquake, all necessary measures will be taken to ensure that these investments are put into service within the specified time without causing any delays.
Within the scope of the Presidential Seasonal Agricultural Workers Circular, the matters specified in the relevant Circular of the Ministry regarding the access to education of the children of seasonal agricultural workers, nomadic and semi-nomadic families will be complied with.