ADANA – Eğitim-Sen (Education and Science Workers' Union) Adana Branch organized a panel titled “Joint Struggle Against Child Labor” as part of the June 12 World Day Against Child Labor. The event brought to light a highly controversial aspect of Turkey's vocational education system: the Mesleki Eğitim Merkezleri (MESEM – Vocational Education Centers) program. With strong attendance, the panel featured Çukurova University Faculty of Education academic Prof. Dr. Adnan Gümüş, who made striking observations by defining MESEM as "high school-diplomated child labor institutionalized by the state."

The panel was moderated by Eğitim-Sen Adana Branch Education Secretary Savaş İlhan. Prof. Dr. Adnan Gümüş’s comprehensive presentation laid bare how child labor is not merely confined to informal street work but is systematically formalized into a form of exploitation through official state-backed programs.

MESEM: Deepening Child Labor Exploitation Under Official Status

Prof. Dr. Adnan Gümüş asserted that the MESEM application transforms the education system by turning businesses into schools, employers into teachers, and apprenticeships into "formalized child labor" complete with a secondary education diploma. Gümüş summarized the current situation, stating: "Child labor is no longer just on the streets; it is now before us with state-backed, diplomated, and incentivized programs. With the MESEM application, children are presented as if they are receiving an education by being given a high school diploma, but in reality, they work four days a week under harsh conditions. The state encourages this practice, leaving children both uneducated and exposed to severe exploitative conditions."

Turkey's Child Labor Reality and the Fate of Public Funds

Prof. Dr. Gümüş presented data highlighting the dire reality of child labor in Turkey. Out of approximately 18 million children aged 5-15, about 5 million are out of school, and 4.5 million are directly or indirectly involved in work relationships. Gümüş emphasized that programs like MESEM and open high school deepen this grim picture. He posed critical questions regarding propaganda slogans such as "MESEM IS WAITING FOR YOU!": "What is the class and social function of MESEM? Who benefits, and who loses? What is the pedagogical basis of this application?"

Gümüş also drew attention to MESEM's financing model, pointing out the alarming fact that the system is funded through the Unemployment Insurance Fund. He stated that the amount spent from the fund for the Work-Based Training Program surged from 3.6 billion TL in 2021 to 10.1 billion TL in 2022, reaching 20.3 billion TL in just the first six months of 2023. This means the money spent in the first half of 2023 was six times that of 2021. Gümüş concluded, "35 TL out of every 100 TL spent from the Unemployment Fund goes to this program. This is a form of state-sponsored application designed to encourage exploitation, not to combat poverty."

Millions in Incentives for Employers, Crumbs for Children: The System's Unjust Face

Prof. Dr. Gümüş further exposed the massive financial incentives provided to employers by the MESEM program. He stated that the government transfers approximately 605,276 TL per apprentice over 48 months to employers. Businesses, he noted, employ apprentices for three-quarters of a minimum wage worker's time without paying any social security (SGK) or unemployment premiums.

"When a business employs 40 apprentices, the total incentive exceeds 24 million lira," Gümüş explained. He highlighted that these incentives are directly provided by the state, yet the children receive only 30% of the minimum wage (approximately 3,420 TL). "Under these conditions, children are neither educated nor gain a profession. The employer profits, while children lose their future," he asserted, drawing attention to the system's fundamental unfairness.

The Bitter Truth: Death of a MESEM Student and the "School-less Society" Threat

Gümüş tragically referenced the death of Zekai Dikici, an 11th-grade MESEM student who died after falling from a construction site in Manisa Alaşehir, as a stark consequence of the MESEM system. He warned, "It has become normalized for a child to work four days a week on a construction site. In this system, where businesses replace schools, children become vulnerable physically, mentally, and educationally."

Gümüş stated that most families sending their children to MESEM are impoverished, arguing that the state is "managing poverty, not fighting it." He warned that families' reliance on these programs as a livelihood strategy threatens both the children's future and the sustainability of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Prof. Dr. Gümüş's Harsh Definition: "MESEM = Institutionalized Child Labor"

Prof. Dr. Adnan Gümüş of Çukurova University's Faculty of Education further asserted that MESEM applications create conceptual confusion within the education system, formalize child labor exploitation, and lead to the "deschooling" of society. Gümüş contended that this system constructs a structure that "reproduces poverty and partisan loyalty instead of guaranteeing children's right to education."

"What is apprenticeship? What is vocational training? What is technical arts education? What is a school? Who is a teacher? These concepts are being mixed up. This is not just confusion, but a conscious inversion process," Gümüş declared. He summarized MESEM applications as: "official high school diplomas given without attending school or lessons; children officially employed but not considered workers; prohibited but institutionalized child labor exploitation; and the transfer of public resources to businesses and partisan structures."

Gümüş argued that encouraging MESEM harms the education system in the long run, prevents children from accessing quality education, and thereby creates a "school-less society." He stated that allowing apprenticeship to count as high school "can neither enable a child to move up the social ladder nor achieve public education. This directly signifies the abolition of school, the exploitation of children's labor, the transfer of resources to businesses, pocket money to families, and votes to the ruling power."

Solution Vision: Equal, Scientific, Conscientious Education, and the German Example

Prof. Dr. Gümüş outlined his vision for a solution based on principles such as "recognizing education as a right, prioritizing the child's ontological integrity and holistic development, and adopting a qualified, scientific, and conscientious approach to education for the benefit of humanity, society, and nature." He emphasized the importance of integrating technical arts with education, guided by teachers.

Citing examples from Germany's 2024 Vocational Education Report, Gümüş underscored that general education is a prerequisite for vocational qualifications. The report shows that increasing general education, especially among migrant and low-income groups, enhances opportunities for vocational training. "Therefore, quality general education and higher education should be prioritized, not early apprenticeship. This should be the goal of education policies," he asserted.

Prof. Dr. Gümüş concluded his statement with definitive remarks: "MESEM is not vocational training; it is not a vocational high school. Unless it is integrated into a formalized education and training process as a fundamental part of technical-arts education, it will neither contribute to child development nor meet society's educational needs. The real solution lies in a scientific and liberal education approach that centers on the child's holistic development, under the guidance of teachers." In his final words, Gümüş defined MESEM as "a class-based resource transfer through poor children, state-backed child labor, a system of exploitation, not education."

Source: isigmeclisi.org