Turkish teachers put on sale in bid, say critics

The Social Serves and Child Protection Agency has hired teachers through a bidding process.

The Social Services and Child Protection Agency, or SHÇEK, has hired teachers, psychologists, nurses and sociologists through a bidding process despite warnings from the Labor and Social Security Ministry not to do so, daily Radikal reported Thursday.

“The duties embodied by nurses, teachers, sociologists and psychologists are the main duties of SHÇEK. They cannot be shifted to a contractor,” said the ministry. Nevertheless, the Istanbul Special Provincial Administration opened a bidding process for the recruitment of 429 occupational employees for SHÇEK.

There are openings for 71 teachers, 33 nurses, 32 sociologists, 109 computer trainers and 26 psychologists, along with computer technicians and cleaning ladies, said the bid, which was won by the Tüm-Pa Cleaning and Social Services Construction Tourism Company.

For its previous work experience, the company pointed to its cleaning job at Eskişehir’s Anadolu University, where it employs an average of 693 workers per month.

The bid attracted great interest but became subject to protests from the Public Bidding Institution by rival companies, who claimed that technical difficulties impeded the process.

Even though the institution said the bidding was flawless in terms of technical deficiencies and was conducted in accordance with procedures, two members from the institution rejected the decision and said the services could not be purchased via a bid.

Adem Kamalı and Erkan Demirtaş, two members of the Public Bidding Institution board, said teachers, sociologists and nurses should have permanent duties.

Authorities from SHÇEK, meanwhile, said they mostly hire teachers in the fields of music and math via such bids.

The head of the Psychologists and Psychotherapists Association, Dr. Bilal Semih, said he did not approve of the procedure and added that choosing employees via a contractor system was wrong in such a sensitive field as SHÇEK.

Education union Eğitim-Sen head Zübeyde Kılıç said job security was damaged by such a bidding process.