Smartphone app to allow teachers to report threat of violence

Duvar English

Turkish Education Ministry has announced that they have launched a mobile application to combat violence inflicted on teachers by giving them access to a panic button on their phones.

The mobile application named “Red Chalk” allows teachers confronted by threatening situations in their classrooms to activate a “help” button on their mobile phone, immediately notifying the police.

The launch of the mobile app was announced by Education Minister Ziya Selçuk. “For the police and authorities to undertake a fast intervention against violence inflicted on educators, we have developed Red Chalk mobile application and initiated work for it to be widespread,” Selçuk wrote on Twitter on Nov. 21.

Through this application, the ministry will also provide legal support for the educators exposed to violence and will follow the legal procedures without the educator having to file an additional complaint, said Selçuk.

"Incidents of violence happening at schools affect the students’ and teachers’ motivation in a negative way. For the violence inflicted on educators to stop, I am following this issue personally and waiting for our society’s support regarding this issue,” he further said.

Turkey's Education and Science Workers' Union (better known with its abbreviation Eğitim-Sen) has recently conducted a survey with 4,657 teachers, 84 percent of whom said they "do not feel safe” at schools, due to the increasing number incidents of violence against teachers.

The survey has also asked the teachers about their financial situation, with 97 percent saying that their purchasing power decreased in the last year. Asked if they would change their jobs provided that they found a better paying one, 69 percent said “Yes.”