Eğitim Sen report: School safety is a fundamental human rights issue

The Turkish Eğitim Sen union has submitted a report to the Grand National Assembly detailing the pervasive issue of violence in schools, urging a comprehensive approach to ensure safe educational environments. The union argues that school safety extends beyond physical security measures at school gates and requires a multi-faceted strategy to combat bullying and create a more supportive atmosphere for students and educators.

The report, titled "Violence in Schools and Safe Education," incorporates statistics from international organizations and the Ministry of National Education. According to PISA 2022 data, 26.6% of 15-year-old students in Turkey experience bullying behaviors several times a month. TIMSS 2023 results indicate that the problem begins earlier, with 16% of 4th-grade students facing bullying about once a week. Eğitim Sen stresses that peer bullying has become a significant risk affecting the school climate and student engagement from primary school onwards.

Further findings from the "Children in Turkey 2024" study by TÜİK and UNICEF reveal that 13.8% of children aged 6-17 have experienced peer bullying more than once, meaning nearly one in seven children face repeated bullying. The Ministry of National Education's 2025 Perception of Violence Survey among high school students found that digital environments are the most common sites for violence, with 37.1% of students identifying them as such. Moreover, 92.3% of students define threats involving the sharing of private information or photos online as violence.

Eğitim Sen concludes that cyberbullying has transcended school walls, becoming a constant form of pressure that extends into students' homes and daily lives. The union advocates for reducing class sizes, strengthening guidance and social service units, incorporating cyberbullying prevention into the curriculum, protecting teachers' professional dignity, and providing schools with support tailored to the social risk map of their regions. They assert that a safe educational environment is possible in spaces that foster democratic participation, pedagogical bonds, and solidarity, and vow to continue their struggle until schools are freed from oppressive mechanisms and violence, transforming into spaces of freedom, equality, and safety.