Turkey vocational training center safety controversy

The Turkish Ministry of National Education has faced intense scrutiny regarding workplace accidents and fatalities involving students in Vocational Training Centers (MESEM).

In September 2026, the Eğitim-İş labor union challenged the Ministry over contradictory data provided to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The union noted that figures reported in June 2026 cited 3,080 accidents and 13 child deaths since 2016, whereas a September report claimed 9,950 accidents and 37 child deaths occurred during the 2025–2026 period alone. Eğitim-İş President Kadem Özbay suggested these discrepancies indicated an attempt to “obscure the truth” or a failure in oversight, arguing the model facilitates child labor.

By October 2026, the issue reached the parliamentary agenda through Member of Parliament Perihan Koca. Official data indicated that between 2021 and 2026, 31,747 students in vocational centers and technical high schools suffered workplace accidents. Critics have raised concerns that the MESEM model, which serves nearly 500,000 students, functions as a source of “cheap and insecure labor” rather than an educational program. Inquiries have questioned the responsibility of Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin regarding the lack of oversight and the prevention of these occupational fatalities.