November Assembly Host of Istanbul Chamber of Industry was The Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk

• 28.11.2018
• News

ICI November ordinary Assembly meeting was carried out with the main agenda of “Importance of Vision of New Education Model In terms of Our Industry In a World Focused on Competition, Science and Technology” on 28 November 2018 in Odakule. The guest of the Assembly meeting chaired by ICI Assembly President Zeynep Bodur Okyay was the Minister of National Education, Ziya Selçuk.

The Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk said: “Education is not an element based on an integrity within itself on its own. It should keep company with democracy and economy. We don’t consider education as an event happening and ending in classes. Education is a process comprising each aspect of the life. Istanbul Chamber of Industry will be a partner with whom we will launch various major projects in the following period.”

Istanbul Chamber of Industry President Erdal Bahçıvan drew attention that the industry works by the labor force whom the education system has raised and said: “Main element for leaving secondary education trap which units people with mediocrity in Türkiye behind is the presence of the qualified teachers. The smartest youths should be directed to the faculties which raise teachers through very inspirer and encouraging programs within the following 15 years.”

ICI President Bahçıvan continued: “Target of strengthening the relation of Education-Employment-Production in Vocational and Technical Education in 2023n Education Vision Document announced by MEB is a crucial subject for the industrialists. Establishing a structure for children’s vocational education will make a significant contribution to our industry manufacturing.

ICI November ordinary Assembly meeting was opened by ICI Assembly President Zeynep Bodur Okyay. Okyay talked about assembly agenda briefly as follows:

ICI Assembly President
Zeynep Bodur Okyay

“We, before anything else, are the representatives of a industry tradition which believes that the human exists in its end and its center. Today, education systems’ preparing new generations to transformation has gained a great importance compared to the past. Education systems should prepare new generations for the digital transformation called as Industry 4.0, for solving problems we cannot foresee today and also for the works with high contents of which names we do not know yet. For this, within the scope of education understanding which science is based on, we have to enable students to gain 21st century’s skills such as analytical and critical thinking, problem solving, productivity, innovativeness, cooperation, communication and foreign languages. We attach great importance to instill sensitive and responsible leadership and assimilate family concept where the most important values are created for our children. One of the most important point is to place creativity and consciousness in the agenda of education process so that it could ignite the innovation in the following periods. Conditions of global competition is changing. Despite of this, we see that the human resource is being created in the control of the communities which raise new generations. Some countries like China and India are the major indicators of this. STEM/STEM+A education approach coming to the forefront recent years to strengthening the research, innovation and productivity in education should be realized the all stages of the education beginning with preschool education. Especially encouraging girls for this field will contribute to the gender mainstreaming.”

Then, Okyay invited ICI President Erdal Bahçıvan to the stage to make his speech about the Assembly’s main agenda item. Bahçıvan said that the existence in the future world depends on the acting in accordance with the spirit of this era. Bahçıvan mentioned that they should not let the fact that they cannot meet the needs of tomorrow in today’s rush by yesterday’s methods escape their notice; and added that they find the presence of the Minister of National Education today with them very meaningful and precious.

Concerning the future of the education, Bahçıvan said: “I think these questions should be asked: How will we raise the qualified human resource to fulfill the new occupations effectually? What can we do against the qualified human need which will have crucial importance in the near future? Of course, at this point the first thing gaining much importance which we should do is to give the necessary importance to the qualified education as of today. We believe wholeheartedly that the 2023 Education Vision Document which our Minister of National Education announced will meet this need.”

ICI President Erdal Bahçıvan

Stating that he supported the Minister Ziya Selçuk’s words “Countries in which mass education prevails disappear in mass”, Bahçıvan said that the fact that syllabus in New Education Model will be created in accordance with our children’s interests, talent and temperament by being harmonized with mankind morals is of great importance. Bahçıvan told that building a new structure oriented to children’s occupational tendencies with an understanding perceiving the education as an ecosystem will contribute to our industry manufacture.

Reminding the words of the Minister Ziya Selçuk “Just like the middle income trap, Türkiye has a secondary education trap.”, Bahçıvan emphasized that the main reason of this trap is the education understanding uniting people with mediocrity. Stating that student consciousness and its level, education equipments focused on contemporary technology and class number are of great importance for leaving the secondary education trap behind and acquiring qualified education, Bahçıvan said that they have come a long way last years but still the most important thing is the presence of qualified teachers who are the main element of the education. Making suggestions in this matter, Bahçıvan said that the smartest youths should be directed to the faculties which raise teachers through very inspirer and encouraging programs within the following 15 years.

Before the Assembly meeting, The Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk had their souvenir photos with scholarship students from ICI Education Foundation taken to come for watching the meeting.

Indicating that vocational and technical education matter is in the lead among the targets which industrialists are interested in New Education Model, Bahçıvan emphasized that as ICI, they have shown necessary sensitivity for the matter of increasing the value attributed to vocational and technical education; and they are ready to give all their support in this matter to the Ministry of National Education.

Emphasizing that person and community idea which moves the production to the center within the education system and features the reproductive aspect of human which gains dignity from not consuming but producing should be improved, Bahçıvan expressed that the dignity of Vocational High Schools and Vovational School of Higher Education should be increased and these institutions should be restructured. Bahçıvan reminded that occupational education has great role in the development of a person individually, in companies institutionally and in the development of the countries socially.

Bahçıvan continued:

“When we look to the developments in recent years, we see that the vocational high schools are not preferred sufficiently by our youth, unfortunately. The managers of Zeytinburnu TRİSAD Textile Technology Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School we visited last week which has a vision and has carried out many successful works ave us concrete numbers: This year their quota is 90 but they could bring in 13 students to their school. Great responsibility falls to families in this matter. Families should encourage, support and reward their children for directing them to these schools. Education-Employment is a crucial subject for us, the industrialists. Because the youth have difficulty in finding opportunity to getting familiar with business world while they are still students. Besides, most of the youth postpone building a career plan after the university. This situation is bringing ineffectiveness in business life in terms of both employees and the youth. Making the youth familiar with the business life with New Education Model will prepare them to much easier business life.”

Stating that they find new targets and policies very precious, Bahçıvan said that they witnessed changes in syllabuses in vocational high schools in season and out of season and assigning four principles to one school in four years; and stated that New Education Vision Document has excited themselves. Emphasizing that realizing the targets concerning vocational high schools in the desired level depends on it’s including the industrialists as an important partners, Bahçıvan highlighted that by undertaking the duty in management of these schools, increasing the education quality of vocational high schools is a crucial responsibility for our country and industry.

By indicating that they are in desire of carrying out more effectual projects in line with the new education vision with the Ministry of National Education, Bahçıvan said: “We have a smooth path. “Furthermore, there is a vision enlightening our path. We should start off before being late for another minute.”

After going up to the rostrum the Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk said that the education is not an element based on an integrity within itself on its own; and added that it should move with economy. Saying that they don’t consider education as an event happening and ending in classes, Selçuk stated that education is a process comprising each aspect of the life. Selçuk emphasized that ICI will be a partner with whom we will launch various major projects in the following period. Stating that they take into consideration the future of children in the works they are carrying out today and they have responsibility for the unborn, Selçuk highlighted that the world has changed its direction and they need competent works concerning the quality of the education.

Telling that in the following era, they will witness fourth biggest fracture, Selçuk listed the previous ones as agriculture, industry and information society. Stating that his own generation will feel themselves as if they were in stone ages towards 2040s, Selçuk said that digital, physical and biological elements will meet in the same body. Selçuk added that people make their business on the computer now, and connecting their minds with the computers have become ordinary. Saying that Türkiye has a major knowledge and it should use the whole of this knowledge, Selçuk expressed that in past instead of “me”, the concept of “I” was adviced to be adopted but now we should all say “all of us”. Selçuk said that if they do not adopt this concept, creating a focus in a particular spot of the country and creating a population around it will be very difficult.

Stating that they try to put intellectual and cognitive capital of Türkiye in a framework with 2023 Education Vision Document, Selçuk said that they attach great importance to philosophy and Türkiye, for the fist time is talking upon a mission model which has a philosophy. Touching upon the necessity of describing what they understand when told human, Selçuk told that in foreign countries when they told human, they understand only their societies, but we understand whole humanity.

The Minister of National Education
Ziya Selçuk

Stating that they consider education as a system and it has components with sub-systems, Selçuk specified that if any element is changed, all the other elements will be affected by it in a positive or negative way. Reminding the importance of calculation of the effect on physical infrastructure and faculties of education when talked about making school obligatory for children under five years, Selçuk emphasized that in the past contribution was made for classes and physical opportunities but Türkiye could not stay above the quality of its own learning processes.

Stating that they are working on a method based on data, Selçuk said: “If use of data is not realized, the policies to show up will not be real. We are trying to regulate the infrastructures of software and hardware subjects. After regulating this infrastructure, we will regulate the education learning analytic. The education learning analytic is a methodology in which all processes can be measured.”

Related to the qualification of teachers, Selçuk said: “There is an universal approach that no country’s quality can exceed the qualification of its teacher. We need a new perspective into which our teachers will contribute much more. When we do not support our teachers, we come across problems. We will support our teachers in every matter.” 

Then ICI Assembly Members went up to the rostrum and explained their opinions and questions regarding main agenda subject to the Minister Selçuk.