Eğitim tarafından içermede potansiyeller ve limitler: Türkiye'deki Suriyeli çocukların eğitimi ve çocuk işçiliği

Due to the internal conflicts in Syria in April 2011, thousands of people lost their lives and millions of people were affected by the crisis. As a result of the conflict, many people took refuge in neighboring countries, including Turkey. More than 3.5 million Syrian refugees currently live in Turkey, making it the world's largest immigrant-hosting country. In the early years of the conflict, policy recommendations for Syrians were short-term because it was predicted that these immigrants would soon return to their countries. For this reason, the initial policies were only aimed at meeting the safety and basic needs of these immigrants. However, after the first few years of the influx, long-term, integration-oriented plans and arrangements, including education policies, were put in place. Migration is a multi-causal social phenomenon and has a wide range of effects for both immigrants and receiving countries. Ensuring that immigrants can live in harmony in the places where they settled is very important, and this is achieved by ensuring their access to basic rights and services. In this sense, it is very important for immigrant children to have access to education in order to adapt to society and most importantly to secure their future, to benefit both themselves and the society in which they live. Education is not just their future financial means of income; it also gives individuals freedom, self-confidence and status in society. Access to educational opportunities for disadvantaged groups is even more critical as it may be the only way to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and the only way to live life with more dignity. Education is a fundamental human right and is of primary importance for the enforcement of other human rights as it promotes individual empowerment, freedom and development. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states as follows; Everyone has the right to education. Education should be free, at least in the initial and basic stages. Primary education should be compulsory. (UN, 1948) Unfortunately, many children are still excluded from education all over the world. According to UNESCO, approximately 258 million youth and children are still out of school and out of educational opportunities for the 2018 school year. Immigrant children are one of the groups most at risk of dropping out or never starting school. Although every child has the right to education, regardless of nationality, legal status or ethnic origin, its practices show a different reality. More than 28 million children were displaced by war or conflict in 2015, and 27 million of them were out of school (UNICEF, 2017). More than 1.6 million Syrian children live in Turkey. Efforts to ensure these children's access to and participation in education continue with the support of the Ministry of National Education and other national and international organizations. However, only 37.28% of school-age Syrian children were attending school until 2016, and this number unfortunately did not exceed 60% in 2021. After 2014, with the Temporary Protection Regulation covering education, the provision of education services to Syrians has accelerated, and many programs/services have been developed and offered in this context. However, even after 10 years of the crisis, many policies and programs to include more Syrian children in education still focus mostly on migration-related barriers. But the problem lies deeper, in the socio-economic barriers that often stem from child labour. Forced migration has made the job of the disadvantaged even more difficult as can be expected. For this reason, it is important to consider the migration focus, although it is not the main basis for tackling the problem of access to education. Many studies on Syrian children's access to education focus on migration-related barriers such as language and integration issues; but the problem is bigger than that: child labour as a result of poverty. This thesis aims to examine whether the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion of Syrian children in the national education system in Turkey, and whether education policies and programs are effective and inclusive in tackling barriers to participation, particularly child labour. Throughout the research, how poverty and economic hardships affect access to education; the extent to which migration deepens the dynamics of exclusion and inclusion, particularly in regard to timely access to fundamental rights and services; The level of access to education of Syrian children in Turkey; what are the barriers to their education; the extent to which child labour has an impact on participation; and how education policies meet (or do not) meet the needs in this area. The main aim of this thesis is to present a situational analysis of Syrian children as well as a comprehensive education policy and program analysis in order to explore the root causes behind the schooling problems of Syrian children and to establish a link between child labour as the main problem in accessing education. In doing so, primarily the concepts of social inclusion and exclusion; fundamental rights and services; migration; socio-economic exclusion, child labour and education issues are discussed. Secondly, in order to understand the root of the problem, a situation analysis of the Syrians in terms of legal, social and economic aspects is included. Third, the Turkish government's educational services for Syrian children are reviewed and analysed. Fourth, the education policies, programs and strategies of both the Turkish Government and international organizations are examined. Finally, empirical findings and conclusions from publications and studies are presented. "To what extent can the inclusion of Syrian children in Turkey be achieved through current policy-making?" In order to answer the research question, the research largely draws on secondary data and information, including both qualitative and quantitative data. The policy analysis methodology is mainly used to provide in-depth analysis of national and international authorities' education policies, strategies and programs for Syrian children in Turkey. In addition, document analysis greatly contributes to the thesis by examining reports and articles on social inclusion, access to fundamental rights and services, legal documents, international agreements and socio-economic analysis of migration. In addition, the research draws on a large number of secondary qualitative and quantitative data published by academics, governments, United Nations Agencies, NGOs and INGOs. In this context, the research includes the annual and thematic reports of governments, the European Union and the United Nations; It includes the analysis of legal documents such as the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 and the Turkish Temporary Protection Regulation. In addition, policy documents, reports of national and international non-governmental organizations, statistics from TURKSTAT and other institutions, and secondary data on education are examined in detail. The barriers to Syrian children's access to education are examined from different perspectives in the literature, and the reasons for these barriers are presented in different publications, reports and academic articles. The reasons for exclusion of Syrian children from education are generally mentioned in these publications as adaptation problems, physical access, unconsciousness, etc. are listed as. Few publications mention child marriage and child labor as problems in accessing education. Child marriage is also a worrying problem in the Syrian community in Turkey, especially for girls, but the scope of this thesis covers the problem of child labor as a reason for not attending school. In addition, the problem of Syrians' access to education is also experienced at the university level, but the thesis covers children, that is, Syrians under the age of 18. The research is a comprehensive situation and policy analysis of Syrian children's educational practices and access to education in Turkey. The research examines the access to education of Syrian children who fled Turkey with their families due to the ongoing conflict in their country, the impact of urban child labour on inclusion and exclusion in education; and national policies for their inclusion. Therefore, the time focus of the study is between 2011 and 2021; the spatial/regional focus is nationwide; the institutional focus is public institutions and organizations, primarily the Ministry of National Education, international organizations, primarily UNICEF and the European Union; Finally, the analytical focus covers child labour and participation in education. Regarding the limitations of the thesis; The first limitation is that the concepts and discussions in this thematic area are very broad and the discussions are very new. Therefore, there is a gap in the extensive literature: most of the existing studies on this topic focus on issues of exclusion related to migration, in contrast to this research, which focuses on more structural issues such as poverty and child labour. Although the literature is not sufficient to provide a comprehensive theoretical background, it is attempted to look deeper within the scope of the thesis. The second limitation is the inability to interview Syrian children and their parents due to COVID-19 measures, as the pandemic forces fieldwork and the target group may not be the appropriate group to interview online. However, various interviews from existing field studies and secondary data from official publications have been used to empirically stand behind the hypothesis. If we come to the thematic area that the thesis examines; Deepening the relationship between child labour and the problem of access to education is the main axis of this thesis, because it is argued that the main reason for the out-of-school problem of Syrian children is child labour stemming from poverty. This thesis presents the voices of Syrian children and their parents from different cities, making use of many field studies conducted across the country. Unfortunately, since the unregistered market in the city is very large and migrant child labour is widespread, most of the field studies utilized within the scope of the thesis are from Istanbul. As of June 2021; in Turkey, 771,458 Syrian children are enrolled in formal education and around 400,000 are still excluded from the system for various reasons. Many reasons are presented in the literature regarding Syrian children who are excluded (or not going to school), and these are listed as lack of school space, language and adaptation problems, transportation and physical access barriers to school, enrollment status, costs, school environment. Policy considerations to overcome these barriers are primarily aimed at improving school infrastructure; designing consistent quality, formal alternatives; finds solutions in access options such as creating additional shifts. In addition, in many studies and publications on the subject, access (as a very general concept), integration, quality education, partnership between institutions, community participation, monitoring and evaluation of programs are suggested as solutions to the problem. Listing these issues follows the presentation of policies for solving migration-oriented problems. With a massive influx of Syrians into the country, Turkey needed to improve and expand its education capacity to include migrant children in the education system. For this reason, many developments have been achieved in this field with the support of the European Union and United Nations agencies. However, after 10 years, 35.6% of Syrian children are still out of school. Also, when analyzing children's access to education, we mainly see enrollment rates, ie a child's enrollment in school is sufficient to be included in the statistics; however, these statistics do not include dropout rates. Therefore, we can assume that more children do not go to school than are included in the statistics. Unfortunately, there is not enough data or statistics on the dropout rates of Syrian children and how many Syrian children actually go to school. While the schooling rate of Syrian children was 37.28% in the education period that started in 2015, this number increased to 62.52% in the period that started in 2017. However, the main problem in Syrian children's access to education stems from the financial difficulties and poverty stemming from child labour and these are more difficult to overcome. This problem has become a growing concern and child labour is a major barrier to the inclusion of Syrian children in education. Child labour is a worrying problem that seriously affects Syrian children and their future prospects. According to the field studies, statistics and secondary data reviewed in this thesis, migration-related barriers do not have a significant impact on inclusion of 35.6% of poor Syrian children whose struggles are beyond the problems arising from migration. As it is known, it is illegal to employ child labour in Turkey. However, despite all legal measures and regulations, thousands of children still in school age continue to take part in the labour market. For example, according to the results of the Child Labour Survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) in 2019, the number of children aged 5-17 working in an economic activity is 720,000 and 34.3 of them do not continue their education. Among the reasons for working, "helping the household's economic activity" with 35.9%, "learning a job, having a profession" with 34.4%, and "contributing to household income" with 23.2% followed. Only 6.4% of children work to meet their own needs. The rate of children who stated that they work to learn a job and have a profession increased from 15.20% to 34.4% in the previous study conducted in 2012. This may be related to the deepening of inequality in access to education, the marketization of education and the decrease in the belief that investment in education will provide opportunities for participation in employment as a result of intense unemployment. Especially children in poor households have low access to quality education and education costs are high. Although the situation likely shows parallel trends for working Syrian children, it is not stated in the survey results whether the survey covers Syrian households and their children who fled Turkey after the civil war in 2011. Although the working areas of Syrian immigrants differ according to the regions, the sectors they work in are generally independent businesses that do not require much capital or skills such as garbage collection, textile and weaving industry, auto repair, paint and whitewash. In parallel, Syrian child workers often work in precarious conditions in these sectors. Adult workers, native or immigrant, are those who have bargaining power in the context of some personal rights compared to children. Children do not have these rights and are unprotected against all kinds of threats and risks. The primary cause of child labour is poverty, but being a migrant and the disadvantage of migrant children living in countries of which they are not citizens exacerbates the problem. It can be said that immigrant children are at the bottom of the informal labour market hierarchy. Syrian migrant children have become a major problem for the informal Turkish economy and labour market, as one of the areas where migrant child labour focuses on the increasing demand for cheap and precarious labour. Syrian children can legally receive education in Turkey with the MoNE regulations, but the ongoing poverty prevents them from reaching this field. Considering the field studies and statistics examined within the framework of the thesis, almost all working children cannot access education. In field studies, both children and their parents stated that their children work instead of going to school due to economic difficulties. Another striking piece of information is that the majority of poor families work in poor and low-skilled jobs in Syria, and their education levels are low. Therefore, poverty resulting from child labour is a more systematic and intergenerational problem, even though it deepens due to migration. It is not surprising that these children are deprived of formal and even non-formal education opportunities. According to MEB statistics, the schooling rate of Syrian children has not exceeded 60% since 2016. One of the biggest reasons for this is child labour, because the problem is much more structural than just immigration. Many Syrian children have to leave school to work, even if they go to school either in Syria or in Turkey. Considering the field studies examined within the scope of the thesis, almost all of the working children are children of very poor families and they have no choice but to work. The majority of these children work in the textile industry. Istanbul and Izmir are provinces where children who do not go to school mostly work due to the current industry and trade volume. Working children face many forms of exploitation (low pay, long working hours, heavy work for their small bodies such as using large and dangerous machinery), often working just to earn a few hundred pounds a month in very bad conditions that negatively affect their health. Child labour, which hinders their physical, spiritual and mental development and causes them to stay away from education; It also puts these children at risk of staying in chronic poverty. It is also clear that child labour is a widespread problem in underdeveloped or developing countries. Short-term policies are planned and implemented for the solution of the child labour problem in Turkey, but the deficiencies in the legislation or the ineffective implementation of the legislation prevent this problem from being completely avoided. Child labour, which has been going on for many years in Turkey, is increasing with Syrian children. Children without job security, forced to work in low-paid, long-term working environments; carries risks both in their physical and mental development and takes on responsibilities that they cannot bear; become more vulnerable to abuse and neglect. On top of all this, distance learning, which started in 2020 due to COVID-19, has worsened the situation of disadvantaged migrant children as many have limited access to physical tools for online education. In addition, children in the most vulnerable groups and without access to distance education are at risk of not returning to school and even being forced into child marriage and child labour. A report by UNHCR shows that children in all countries are far more disadvantaged in dealing with the effects of COVID-19 on their education (UNHCR, 2020). Within the scope of the measures taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic, formal education was also suspended in Turkey and distance education has been started as of March 23, 2020, and education is carried out over the Education Information Network (EBA). However, since the system requires a TV, tablet or computer, not all students have equal access to the system, and when there is more than one school-age child in the household, the problem arises that not all children have this equipment or have limited access. One of the most disadvantaged groups whose access to EBA is restricted due to lack of technological equipment and large households is Syrian children. In some studies on the impact of the epidemic on the participation of Syrian children in education, it has been stated that about half of the immigrant children do not have sufficient technical equipment at home, they live in families that do not have enough knowledge to use the systems, they have difficulty in following the lessons and they cannot benefit from distance education (SGDD Migration Academy, 2020). It has also been revealed that 50% of children who attended school in the pre-COVID-19 period currently do not have access to education. Unfortunately, the financial situation also affects the access of Syrian children to education during the distance education period. It is a big question whether these children will continue their education when face-to-face education starts, and urgent action is needed to avoid losing more children in education. As for the policy analysis on the subject; There was no clear intention to include Syrian children in the Turkish national public school system in the early years of the conflict, as Syrians were expected to return to their country after the conflict at the beginning of the Syrian crisis. In the first years, schools for Syrian children were first established in temporary accommodation centers, but as the numbers increased, schools began to be opened in provinces where the Syrian population was relatively higher, apart from temporary accommodation centers. While 60% of children living in temporary accommodation centers were enrolled in school in 2012 and 2013, only 14% of children living in city centers attended school. This risk also attracted the attention of the Ministry of National Education; Afterwards, many policies were developed and training programs were started. In 2014, all informal schools were accredited as Temporary Education Centers (TEC) so that Syrian children can continue their education in Turkey before returning to their home country. Then, in August 2016, the MoNE announced that all Syrian children would be integrated into Turkish public schools and announced plans to gradually close TECs by 2020. Schooling policies, which are both public and social policies for Syrian children, access to school, teacher or parent training, ensuring social cohesion among peers, etc. Although these are undoubtedly valuable advances, the biggest problem with the exclusion of Syrian children from education is child labour as a result of poverty, and the solution to this may not be found only in migration and education policies. Poverty reduction policies and strategies for immigrants in Turkey should be discussed. The social protection pillar consisting of social assistance, social security and labour market programs is the only effective pillar in Turkey. It is clear that the social assistance provided to families whose children do not go to school due to poverty will not be enough to find long-term solutions. For example, the Conditional Education Assistance Program provides only 45-50 liras per child each month, and given the current economic crisis and inflation in the country, this money will not even be enough for daily meals, let alone school supplies or transportation costs. In this case, the understanding of social assistance is mostly based on cash transfers and the plans do not include social insurance, labour market programs or any other poverty reduction policy that will create longer-term solutions. Although there have been efforts on the subject in the past 10 years and the situation has improved, there are still thousands of Syrian children who do not go to school. During the policy analysis of the thesis, a comprehensive, multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional policy was not encountered. For example, most UN policies and programs focus on shorter-term solutions, such as providing cash assistance or training civil servants for capacity building. On the other hand, the EU has been an important actor from the very beginning with the funds provided, but EU institutions such as ECHO do not have a detailed policy-making influence and play a role in important policy decisions. As stated, the Turkish MoLSS has comprehensive and cross-sectional policies on combating child labour, but more monitoring is needed and they should act on these strategies. The only monitoring report they have published is from mid-2020, and besides there has been no other monitoring report since; The only monitoring report published does not include concrete solutions and actions in line with the defined strategies. The EU and UN should focus more on cross-sectoral policies to include children in poverty in education. Conditional education assistance programs for education may not be sufficient to solve problems related to poverty. While the Conditional Education Assistance Program provides aid between 45 and 50 TL per month for Syrian children, school expenses in Turkey are 251 TL per month according to the Eğitim-Bir-Sen report (Egitim Bir Sen, 2019). Moreover, poverty causes children to enter the labour market instead of going to school, so more anti-poverty strategies should be defined by the UN. UN Agencies in Turkey should also do more than organize workshops and a few days' training for relevant government officials; should try to establish stronger advocacy and monitoring mechanisms. The legal framework for monitoring and eliminating child labour for both local and migrant children should be strengthened. Although it is forbidden to employ children before the age of 15 according to Turkish Labour Law, labour laws generally do not protect the value and conditions of child labour. There should be a better punishment system for those who benefit from precarious child labour, and the inspection systems of relevant government agencies should be strengthened. A better and stronger coordination mechanism is needed. For example, the Presidency has a FRiT office that monitors and oversees how FRiT funds are spent, but does not have much activity other than getting reports on projects quarterly. Also, more dialogue is needed between government and organizations working on the ground in the policy-making process. There is a great need to establish a system for reliable data on migrant child labour and data/information on out-of-school children. Studies carried out locally by different actors are not enough to grasp the whole picture. In order to determine the needs and to produce information that will meet the requirements in the field in parallel, the authorities need to carry out extensive studies in order to present more concrete data on the subject throughout the country. One of the most important issues to focus on in this regard is that compensatory education programs should be expanded to include more disadvantaged Syrian children who are at risk of dropping out of school. Only 64.44% of school-age Syrian children in Turkey have access to education. Although Syrian children have a legal right to education, the economic burden of schooling and the poverty caused by child labour hinder children's right to attend basic school. Whether for long working hours, low pay, or otherwise, children realize they are not getting better conditions, and although many develop a desire to go back to school, it is too late. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic makes it difficult for disadvantaged Syrian children to access online education and there is a risk of losing already registered Syrian children. Therefore, more comprehensive and multi-sectoral policy making becomes an important requirement in order to overcome the schooling problems of Syrian children living in Turkey. Thousands of Syrian children are in danger of becoming a lost generation due to barriers to education. Efforts to include out-of-school Syrian children in education often fail when it comes to reaching the most vulnerable, namely children in extreme poverty, leading them to work rather than study. Although official actors, national and international organizations have made tremendous efforts to include more Syrian children in education in Turkey in the last 10 years, policies and strategies are not enough to completely overcome the problem. Therefore, a comprehensive solution should be sought by involving all political actors in comprehensive and multi-sectoral policy making.