News in education system in Ottoman according to the Vakit Gazetesi (30 October 1918 - 23 April 1920)

During years of National Struggle after World War I, the lands where Ottoman Empire ruled face substantial difficulties. As battles were fought from one side, and education activities were tried to pursue from another side. The main problem that hindered the initiatives in the field of education was the lack of school buildings and necessary budget. Following the Armistice of Mudros, the Allied Powers claimed most of the buildings that previously belonged to foreigners and were later seized by the government during World War I. As a consequence, many schools situated in these buildings were forced out. In the wake of this, the education administrators spent almost all of their time after the Armistice striving to allocate a building to each school. Many schools could not start operating for a long time; both teachers and students had to struggle with various hardships as the schools were moved from location to location. The gravest of the hardships was the lack of budget: the school buildings could not be paid due attention. For example, it was decided that among the schools that were closed during the influenza pandemic, only those with enough fuel were to be reopened. The financial difficulties and the high cost of living showed themselves in most areas all country, and it forced the civil servants and teachers, who received salaries from the ministry budget, to work under difficult conditions whereas the primary school teachers, whose salaries were issued from the provincial budget, experienced even more misery. Teachers could not get a salary for months, and in order to make their voices heard, they had to neglect their posts to go on a strike. However, despite all these hardships, the biggest supporters of the National Struggle were the educators. Especially after the occupation of İzmir, they undertook an important social mission in order to eliminate the danger against the country as soon as possible, they organized rallies, conferences and aid campaigns. In this study, that struggle in education, between signing of the Armistice and the foundation of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye was tried to be explained. In order to keep track of the timeline, "Vakit Gazetesi" was referred. Also, in the line with the news articles, information regarding the political atmosphere of the country and its reflections on education, as well as information about the educational institutions teachers and students was provided.