Accountability and audit mechanisms in public administration:Application of CILEN in the specific area of educational institutions in Turkey

The rapid acceleration of technology in the 21st century has made the development of digital applications essential for the delivery of public services. In this context, the Presidential Communication Center (CİMER) has emerged as a mechanism facilitating citizens' access to public institutions. The functionality of the CİMER application, an institutional tool that supports the principles of accountability, transparency, and participation in public administration, was examined specifically for schools within this study. With the transition to the Presidential Government System in 2018, BİMER (Prime Ministry Communication Center) was replaced by CİMER. CİMER allows citizens to easily and quickly convey their requests, suggestions, complaints, and requests for information to the relevant units. Specifically, CİMER increases participation and accountability in schools, while simultaneously placing pressure on school administrators and guiding them to establish a balance between stakeholders such as parents, teachers, senior management, and students. While CİMER facilitates participation in some aspects of educational service delivery, it can lead to issues such as hesitancy among school administrators in decision-making processes, professional pressure, and administrative instability. In this context, in sensitive public service areas like education, the perception of CİMER as a complaint mechanism should be prevented, and structural adjustments should be made if necessary. CİMER applications demonstrate the functionality of accountability in educational institutions, and the institutionalization of this functionality is possible through the effectiveness of inspection mechanisms. Inspection is necessary for the delivery of the education system and the implementation ofservices. Inspection is the most important system that provides this feedback. Knowledge of the functioning of the education system's shortcomings is essential for developing solutions. A comparison of educational inspection practices across countries was conducted to identify the benefits and shortcomings of inspection practices in the education system. The inspection system implemented in Turkey is presented in comparison with those in Germany, France, and the UK. The findings from the comparison reveal the similarities and differences between the educational inspection systems of Germany, France, and the UK and those of Turkey. The aim is to identify the shortcomings of the Turkish inspection system and contribute to the system.