A Stern Call to MoNE from Türk Eğitim-Sen: "We Expect Additional Appointments Towards November 24, Eliminate the Injustice of Interview!"

ANKARA - On October 15, 2025, Turkish Education and Science Union President Talip Geylan received in his office the teacher candidates who were successful in the 2024 KPSS but could not be appointed due to insufficient quotas. Making a statement after the visit, President Geylan drew attention to the situation of more than 500 thousand teachers waiting to be appointed and the injustice in the interview system, and demanded the right to additional appointments in time for November 24th Teachers' Day.

500 Thousand Teachers Waiting for Appointment, 86 Thousand Paid Teachers Are Employed

Sharing striking data on one of Turkey's most critical education problems, the teacher shortage and the backlog of teachers waiting for appointment, Geylan revealed the gravity of the picture:

"The number of teachers waiting to be appointed is now over 500,000 and this number continues to increase every year. On the other hand, the norm staffing deficit in our schools is also growing. According to the research we conducted as Türk Eğitim-Sen, in the 2024-2025 academic year, 86 thousand 136 paid teachers were assigned in 78 provinces. Only in Istanbul, 19 thousand 757 paid teachers were employed. On the other hand, our norm staff need was 100,541 in 75 provinces last year. This picture reveals that our need for teachers needs to be met urgently."

Geylan criticized the MoNE's attempt to fill this gap with temporary and precarious paid teacher assignments, while there are over 500 thousand qualified teachers waiting to be appointed.

Legal Support for Interview Victimization Will Continue

Stating that the interview system applied in teacher appointments harms the principle of merit, Geylan reiterated that they stand by the candidates who have suffered injustice:

"Unfortunately, some of the candidates with high scores in both the 2023 and 2024 KPSS were eliminated by being given low interview scores. This situation both reduces confidence in the principle of merit and damages the sense of justice. As Türk Eğitim-Sen, we provide legal support to teacher candidates who were eliminated through interviews. As a matter of fact, there are also decisions from the judiciary on this issue that rejoice the interview victims. Our support for interview victims will continue under all circumstances and with determination."

Call for Additional Appointments on November 24

General President Talip Geylan demanded that a concrete step be taken to ensure that teacher candidates awaiting appointment are compensated for their hard work and that the need for teachers in schools is met:

"As Türk Eğitim-Sen, we demand a good news for prospective teachers on November 24th Teachers' Day. 2024 Teacher candidates who were successful in KPSS but were not appointed due to limited quotas should be given the right to an additional appointment in time for November 24."

Geylan finally emphasized that the basic condition for ensuring the quality of education, eliminating inequality between regions and providing a qualified education is to close the teacher shortage, and noted that the institution that demands the highest number of teacher appointments in this country should be the Ministry of National Education itself.