I’ve checked the World Business Council for Sustainable Development Vision 2050 report and the council list itself; there’s no one from Turkey[3]. There are nine direct members from India and Brazil and the other BRICS. Seven, I think, are from China, four or five from South Africa, and just one company from Mexico. Turkey lags behind in these global collectives. I’m not going to suggest that Turkey’s business world only pays lip service to the World Business Council, but so far it has only shown interest. Maybe Turkish businesses lack confidence in their ability ever to become a global player. In any case, it seems to me that Turkish businesses content themselves with benefiting from the output. In countries similar to ours, the private sector is more active. I think Turkey and Turkish businesses could be much more proactive in so many different areas on both the national and international level.
IÖ
BE
Let’s come to our sine qua non topic: education. I believe we all agree that our results in international comparisons are abysmal. Our ranking is very low; we’re near the bottom in PISA too. There isn’t a single area where our performance ranks high. Yet, education is the primary focus of our philanthropists, of anyone who wants to contribute something to society. A look at the resources allocated by government doesn’t reveal much of a shortfall either. When you consider this allocation as a proportion of GDP, it has even risen at times. We’ve also seen progress in certain quality indicators, like the number of students per class. Yet, sadly, there is no improvement in results; things are actually getting worse. The inevitable conclusion is that we have a systemic problem rather than a resource problem. Clearly throwing good money after bad isn’t going to solve the problem. What should we be doing instead? In particular, what should businesspeople and the business world be doing? Because this is much more than a social responsibility issue; it has nothing to do with charity either. As you were saying, Professor Özel, this is about our future. Unless people are given the right training, we’re not going to survive in today’s competitive world, and we’re certainly not going to be ready for even the most basic stages of innovation. We’ll have no right to live in tomorrow’s world. Consequently, this is a matter of survival, well beyond charity or social responsibility.
IÖ
Education spending was the fastest rising budget item in Turkey between 2008 and 2013. Compare that with the 1990s, when education’s share in total public spending was 1.8 percent. Now it’s four point something. That’s a significant budget. All the same, spending per student is far below the desired level. Of course, our country has limited resources, but I see this as a matter of survival: Our future is in danger, politically as well. It seems a little naive to expect students raised in the present education system to demand decent governance in the future, a decent democratic system. They don’t understand what they read, and their values are possibly not what they should be either. I believe business should invest both intellectually and materially in an education system that offers the right values and encourages innovation and creativity. I’m referring to more than constructing a building. Business should recognize that the problem is structural and includes a range of issues from teachers to values, and it should invest accordingly. Although education is a highly ideological field, business should still endeavor to participate proactively in public policy making in this area. In fact, it should even insist on it.
Public debate on the quality of education and the curriculum can raise awareness. After the PISA scores were announced, there was debate, we were all upset, there was an uproar – then what? This is where the private sector should do something. Instead of just constructing schools, it should contribute to the solution by identifying the structural issues and by finding ways to cultivate good teachers and improve the curriculum. PISA’s director says, “Good teachers are essential.”
AÇ
Yes. It was in the news today.
IÖ
The news gave an example from Vietnam – that Vietnam outscored many countries, including some regions in the USA. It also stressed that the most important factor was not spending per person, or number of classrooms; it was good teachers. Business should take a look at how teachers are trained in Turkey, not as a social responsibility project, but out of concern for its future human resources needs. Its own interest, its own future, actually, will be determined by our country’s education.
AÇ
This is a great example.
BE
Absolutely.
AÇ
Every foundation opens either a school or a residence hall, but no one says, “Let’s train teachers.” Why not? Because it’s really quite difficult.
IÖ
Very.
AÇ
Politically, too.