The Ministry of National Education in Türkiye has launched an effort to close down approximately 2,000 schools that are reported to be operating without proper licenses.
National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin emphasized that this issue is particularly prevalent among individuals who were dismissed from both public and private schools due to their affiliation with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Following numerous notifications received through a helpline established to combat unregistered schools, action has been initiated to close 1,825 unauthorized educational institutions.
The ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Interior to combat these unauthorized schools. To prevent any inconvenience for students and parents, a list of private educational institutions authorized by the Ministry of Education has been published on the official website and a QR code application has been implemented on institution signs.
The crackdown extends to various types of unauthorized educational facilities, including education centers, educational consultancies, career guidance centers, educational coaching centers, homework centers and language courses operating without the necessary permissions.
Governor offices across the country have launched efforts to close down these educational institutions that offer courses without proper permits in accordance with the Private Educational Institutions Law or a business or working license. Those who establish or operate such institutions may face administrative fines of 20 times the gross minimum wage.
Ministry officials continuously assess information and reports related to unauthorized educational institutions and maintain close contact with provinces where these unlicensed activities are prevalent to ensure necessary actions are taken.
Monitoring and coordination commissions, established within provincial governorships, evaluate notifications, conduct inspections and investigate unauthorized schools. The findings are regularly reported to the ministry.
Moreover, inspections related to the QR code application have been expedited, and administrative procedures have been initiated against institutions that failed to implement the QR code application by the specified deadline.
The QR code application provides information such as the institution's name, institution code, type, opening date, address, address code, founder's information, building quota, program types, quotas and fees. Citizens can verify whether a course is authorized by the ministry by scanning the QR code.
Tekin previously raised concerns that students enrolled in open high schools were attending underground and unsupervised courses. He warned parents not to enroll their children in these unauthorized courses for the upcoming term.