Erdogan says school safety top priority, rules out compromise

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Monday that securing the nation’s schools is the government’s highest priority, vowing that no concessions will be made on the issue. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan addressed the recent tragedy in Kahramanmaras, where an eighth-grade student opened fire at a middle school, killing nine people and injuring 13 others. He emphasized that violence must be tackled through a multi-layered strategy covering family dynamics, digital media exposure, and institutional collaboration. “The more accurately we identify the factors fueling the culture of violence, the more successful we will be in the treatment process,” he said.

AI and digital monitoring

Erdogan announced that authorities plan to expand monitoring of online spaces by making use of artificial intelligence. “We will further strengthen our visible and invisible presence in the dark corners of the internet by also benefiting from artificial intelligence,” he stated. The president also warned that media portrayals of violence can have harmful effects on youth, noting that presenting perpetrators as powerful or respected figures distorts young people’s perception of reality. He cautioned that detailed reporting of violent acts and repeated broadcasting of attack footage may increase the risk of imitation among children.

School-police cooperation and parental support

One of the key steps, Erdogan said, will be to increase cooperation between schools and law enforcement while developing new working models. Efforts will also be made to improve communication between schools and parents, including enhancing an existing parent appointment system and launching support lines to address digital addiction. The measures reflect a broader national response to the Kahramanmaras shooting, which has reignited public debate on school safety and youth violence in Türkiye.