KTÖS: Repressive Mentality Has Lost Its Legitimacy

KTÖS Secretary-General Burak Maviş, in a written statement on behalf of the union, voiced support for KTOEÖS and stressed that they would not remain silent in the face of restrictions on democratic rights. “It is now more important than ever to stand in solidarity against the pressure targeting teachers’ union struggle,” he said.

Maviş accused the Ministry of Education of attempting to resolve problems through bans, postponements and disciplinary actions instead of dialogue. “The Ministry operates with a mindset of ‘how can I punish, how can I suppress the teacher,’” he said.

Recalling that 22 teachers had previously faced legal action based on fabricated reasons, Maviş noted: “Problems are solved through dialogue, respect, humility, guidance and common sense — not through prohibitions and punishments.” He added that the disciplinary provisions in the Teachers’ Law exist for guidance, not repression, and described the Ministry’s efforts to turn them into a political tool as a sign of administrative failure.

Maviş also noted that KTOEÖS had filed a case with the Constitutional Court against the strike ban, emphasizing the importance of using legal mechanisms constructively. However, he warned that the Ministry launching disciplinary investigations against teachers during the same period represented a serious setback for democracy.

Criticizing the Education Minister for targeting teachers instead of addressing fundamental issues such as overcrowded classrooms, inadequate budgets and the growing culture of violence in schools, Maviş stated:

“Instead of producing solutions to problems such as students studying in container classrooms, child poverty, lack of materials and technology, shortages in special education and counselling, building safety or inequality, targeting and investigating teachers who voice these realities and union representatives is unacceptable.”

Maviş concluded by reaffirming KTÖS’s solidarity with KTOEÖS’s legitimate struggle:
“The repressive mentality has lost its legitimacy. As teachers, just as we have never abandoned Atatürk’s principles and reforms, we will never stop defending our democratic rights.”