The Education World Forum  2022 ministerial session was held in London with the participation of over 100 countries.

National Education Minister Mahmut Özer, in his speech, addressed the ministers and educators who came from different countries all over the world and remarked that the 21st century has been witnessing a significant economic and social transformation.

Minister Özer has reminded us that all the education systems have faced with Covid-19 outbreak since 2020 and he also pointed out that unexpected epidemics, natural disasters, and migration have affected education systems.

Özer emphasized that school is not only a teaching place, but it has also more meanings and functions and he said that "schools teach, reduce inequality in societies; provide the appropriate environment for children to raise them physically, socially and psychologically".

"The number of students in Türkiye is more than the population of 150 countries"

Minister Özer said that Türkiye's education system has witnessed remarkable growth in the last 20 years, from preschool to higher education, at every stage of education, participation rates have increased.

Özer said that there are 19 million preschools, primary schools, secondary schools, and  9 million high school students in Türkiye and he drew attention to the number of students inTürkiye is more than 150 countries' population.

Özer said that there are 1.2 million teachers in Türkiye, and he pointed out the importance of some issues such as the qualifications of teachers.

National Education Minister Özer noted that they determined three major topics during the pandemic and they primarily increased the schooling rates.

Özer underlined the importance of enhancing the quality of education regardless of the socio-economic background of the students,  he said that to provide the same quality education, they are trying to enrich the qualifications of teachers as well as students.

Priority is to improve the quality of the Turkish Education System

Minister Özer noted that Türkiye provides education to Syrian refugees and there are 1 million Syrian students in the Turkish education system. Minister Özer said that "Türkiye is trying its best on behalf of the whole world. This is crucial. You should thank Türkiye because Türkiye provides education not only to its citizens but also to immigrants.

Özer emphasized that their priority is to improve the quality of the Turkish education system and in this context, first of all, they would like to increase the pre-school subscription rate to 100 percent, and secondly, to reduce the inequality gap among schools. Furthermore, Özer stated that they attach great importance to vocational education and participation of graduates in the labor market and that this has an important place in balancing education systems he said.

"All education systems are as strong as teachers"

In addition to these, the Minister of National Education said that they are trying to promote teachers all over, for this reason, they amended the law related to the teachers and underlined that they provide all kinds of support to the teachers.

Minister Özer mentioned that created education systems do not bring any results if they do not penetrate the schools; Özer said that currently there are school-based teacher training programs in Türkiye and teachers decide themselves which training they need for their professional development.

Minister Özer added that all education systems and societies are as strong as their teachers.