Kılıçdaroğlu announces education and health policies

Main opposition’s presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has announced his education and health policies he will implement in Turkey should he assume power in the May 14 election. In two different videos, Kılıçdaroğlu said they will transform the Education Ministry into an independent structure from politics, and they will establish “Health Cities.”

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The main opposition bloc Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate and Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on May 8 announced his education and health policies he will implement in Turkey should he assume power in the upcoming election in new videos.

Kılıçdaroğlu first announced his education policies and mainly said “The most important reform is to manage the Education Ministry according to pedagogical rules accepted in the world and to purify it from the influence of politics. The biggest revolution I will make in education is to transform the Education Ministry into an independent structure like the Central Bank, into an institution that politics will never enter.”

Kılıçdaroğlu said “This government changed the Education Minister eight times (in 21 years). The education system has changed 17 times. Can you believe this? 17 times… As if it is a puzzle. The education expenditure undertaken by a family in Turkey is more than twice the OECD average. Think about it. They both impoverished the people and increased their education expenditures to twice the OECD average.”

“The only way for the poor in this country to break their bad luck is education. I know this from myself. 3.5 million children are out of education in Turkey. In this country, there are children who left education to support their family's economy,” the 74-year-old leader said.

In another video on the same day, Kılıçdaroğlu announced his health policies. Addressing the physicians who went abroad to work, Kılıçdaroğlu invited them to return to Turkey. 

In the eight video of the "Mr. Kemal's Board" series, Kılıçdaroğlu said they will establish “Health Cities.”

“We will establish Health Cities in three regions in Turkey, starting from Istanbul, İzmir and Antalya. These Health Cities will have quality hospitals with the highest equipment. In these facilities, health services will be provided in accordance with international standards and accreditations. Elderly care units integrated with our Health Cities will be established,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, and added that this project will bring three billion dollars and provide employment for 50,000 people in five years.

“In these Health Cities, we will provide the highest level of human-oriented services using medical technologies, smart health services, robotic technology and medical artificial intelligence. Turkey will be one of the world's leading countries in the health sector in 10 years,” he added.

Turkey will hold parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. Some polls suggested that Kılıçdaroğlu might beat his rival President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the first round amid non-stoppable inflation and deteriorating economic crisis.