Education During COVID-19 in Antalya, Turkey
Teachers of Antalya Share Their Thoughts on Government’s Education Policies
April 11, 2021
Since March 2020, the Turkish government has changed its policies on in-person education multiple times due to pandemic measures. First, they tried to divide grades into different days for meeting in-person so less contact will be held. Then, called for in person meetings only with elementary school students to help working parents. In accordance, the universities were called for opening in-person, but the initiative was withdrawn immediately as the domestic travel of students increased the number of cases. But as of March 2 of 2021, in person education restarted for eighth and 12th graders to prepare for the national high school and university entrance exams.
Antalya, one of the largest cities in Turkey, is currently under the “very high risk group” of cities according to the statistics provided by the Turkish Ministry of Health. The academic institutions of Antalya are having difficulties in adapting to ever-changing government policies while also trying to keep the virus from spreading inside the classrooms.
Orhan Dikici is the secondary school principal and history teacher for eighth graders at PrivateAntalya College’s Konyaalti Campus. For Dikici, it is not only the ever-changing government decisions that affect students and faculty negatively but also the possibility of the education system becoming full online.
"If we are to think about education as multidimensional, I think the students will face serious issues regarding their ability to socialize and to have a hands-on learning experience in the upcoming years.” said Dikici.
But a Turkish literature teacher from Private Bilfen School Figen Hancıoğlu says that online learning proved that education does not need to be disrupted under any circumstances from now on. Teaching Turkish literature to high school seniors, Hancıoğlu said that the unstable government decisions are slowing down the pace of education.
“Of course, we first had to adapt to online learning when it started. But when we finally adapted to the new system, the government said that in person classes will restart for certain grades. We were happy to restart in person classes even though we were scared of contracting COVID-19. And when we finally readapted to in person learning, they suddenly switched us to full-online again. These adaptation periods are taking so much of our time. The ambiguity around when we will have to switch back to online learning affects us very negatively.”
The Turkish Ministry of Education lowered the number of topics to be covered in the university and high school entrance exams to ease the teachers’ jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Dikici says that this is only a short term solution.
“It is not feasible to expect students to prepare for the entrance exams through online learning.These exams are not prepared that way.” commented Dikici, recalling the nationwide issue onthe internet connection present since the pandemic started.
“In this case, the already non-existing equality in education is becoming more and more unfair. Also, some low-income families who send their kids to state schools cannot afford onlinelearning. They are not given equal opportunities.”
Hancıoğlu also talked about the rise of inequality in education during the online learningperiod. She said that the government response had been lacking and suggested that the groundwork for internet eligibility in the rural areas must be improved immediately.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of personal technological devices like laptops and Ipads were restricted in Turkish schools. Except for higher education, lectures were conducted almost solely with physical materials like notebooks, pencils and blackboards. That is why Turkey’s education sector was caught even more off guard compared to other countries in terms of switching to online learning.
Also, the two national exams that every student in Turkey spends their years studying for were never adjusted to online learning environments. But right now, students in Turkey are preparingfor a nationwide in-person exam online.
Regarding the sustainability of online preparation forthe national exams, Dikici said that:
“Online learning is insufficient when it comes to preparing for a centralized exam. It can onlybe efficient when it is conducted as a hybrid system. But regardless of that, I believe that in-person education will always be more effective. The Ministry of Education has also unfoldedmy theory through bringing the high school seniors and eighth graders to school so that theycan prepare for exams in person.”
But Hancıoğlu thinks that it is all about adaptation.
“For now, it is hard for students to prepare for the exam online because they do not have the infrastructure for it yet. Maybe in five or six years, when this becomes a tradition, it might be easier to prepare for the university exam through online learning.”
She said that the biggest struggle for students is the multiple-choice mock exams. Since they are not used to reading questions from a screen and thus are losing lots of their time. While she accepted that students solve multiple-choice questions faster when in person, she reiterated that all it takes for a change is adapting to the new normal.
“The student is accustomed to a face-to-face dialog with the teacher. They are used to solving questions on paper. The screen creates a distance that is uncomfortable for the average student. But some of my students are faster adapters and say that online learning has been more effective for them.”
As both teachers agreed that online learning has gotten better after a year of adaptation and content creation, they differ in opinions on whether or not in-person education is necessary for the future of the Turkish education system. To answer that question from a student perspective, a former student of Hacıoğlu, Sinan Barut, said that education needs to be in person as long as the exam system stays the same.
“I do not think the regular lectures need to be in person, but a face-to-face interaction is necessary when it comes to solving multiple-choice questions to prepare for the national exams. Otherwise, it will not be comprehensible.” the student commented.