Newsletters
Türkiye's Interior and National Education ministries announced a comprehensive nationwide school security response on Thursday, following armed attacks at schools in Kahramanmaras and Sanliurfa, ordering at least two police officers to be stationed at every school.
A multi-layered short-, medium-, and long-term action plan, and province-by-province risk assessments, as the funerals of killed students were held in Kahramanmaras, and a 17-year-old student was detained in Tokat for posting a social media threat against a school.
Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci and National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin convened an emergency session at the Interior Ministry's Security and Emergency Coordination Center, involving all 81 provincial governors, provincial police chiefs, gendarmerie commanders and provincial education directors.
The joint statement said the session examined how the Kahramanmaras and Sanliurfa attacks occurred, the initial response process, inter-institutional coordination capacity and risk signals that existed before the attacks.
Schools' internal and external security, entry-exit procedures, perimeter controls, camera systems, visitor management, school bus routes and student gathering areas were also reviewed.
The Interior Ministry immediately activated enhanced security measures at all educational institutions across 81 provinces.
At least two police officers were assigned to the entrances and surrounding areas of each school, with reinforcement teams available during school hours as needed.
In Ankara, police teams conducted identity checks and situation assessments on suspicious individuals around primary, middle and high schools.
In Istanbul, police checked vehicles and conducted identity verifications around school perimeters.
The joint statement said the session agreed on:
Measures also agreed upon include:
The statement explicitly named digital and cultural factors alongside physical security. "Internet usage, the influence of social media platforms, harmful content spread on digital channels, cyberbullying, the glorification of crime and criminals, and the effects of TV series, films and similar popular culture elements that normalize violence on our children were addressed in a multidimensional manner," the joint statement said.
Early warning and early intervention mechanisms were to be strengthened among school management, guidance services, teachers, families, security units and relevant public institutions.
Turkish main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)'s Gaziantep MP Hasan Ozturkmen held a press conference in parliament, calling for police or security officers at all schools, turnstiles and X-ray machines at entrances, visitor registration, alarm buttons at key points within schools, more school psychologists, and permanent police patrols in school zones.
He also called for legal action against social media accounts spreading hatred of teachers.
Ozturkmen said the problem was not solely one of security: "A youth that has been isolated, left without a future, and cut off from society and production is hopeless and unhappy."
A 17-year-old student in the Niksar district of Tokat was detained on Thursday after posting on social media that there could be an attack on a school.
The student, an 11th-grader, was referred to the prosecutor's office in accordance with police procedures.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
