The production capacity of vocational high schools in the first three months of 2022 increased by 225% compared to the same period of the previous year, and they reached a turnover of 33 million 490 thousand lire. The three schools that contributed the most to this figure were ‘Ankara Sincan Fatih Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School’ with 7 million 933,000 TL, ‘Gaziantep Martyr Kamil Beylerbeyi Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School’ with 7 million TL in production and ‘ Istanbul Kumburgaz with 6 million 500 thousand TL’ Vocational and Technical High School of Anatolia. While the schools in Istanbul and Gaziantep produce like food factories, the school in Ankara mainly works on furniture and fittings. Food is delivered from the school kitchen in Gaziantep to Jarablus and Elbab hospitals in the Euphrates Shield region. Principals of schools that function as factories spoke of how many students they work with and what the production has brought to students in terms of financial gain and knowledge.
THE COMPUTER, THE BENCH, THE CABINET ARE THEIR WORK
Cumali Yerdelen, principal of Ankara Sincan Fatih Anatolian Vocational and Technical High School with 1.50 students, which is the school with the highest turnover rate among vocational high schools in the first three months, said: “He there are 6 areas in our school that carry out production activities”. Stating that all of these areas operate without interruption, Yerdelen explained the services they provide as follows: “We produce in many areas, from metal technology to air conditioning, but the areas of IT, furniture and metal were our departments that contributed the most to production in the first part of the year.In basic education, we have set up course materials in many schools.If a computer is to be installed in a school of a city, our students work there.At the same time, our students in the fields of metal and furniture make desks and cupboards for the schools.Our electrical department is in charge of the plumbing work for the schools.
We believe that education will be more beneficial while producing. It is extremely beneficial for children to have the opportunity to practice, because this type of learning is more permanent. Last year we had a turnover of 3 million 200 thousand. This year, we doubled that number in the first three months with new projects.
FOOD IN HOSPITALS GOING TO SCHOOL
Anatolia Gaziantep Şehit Kamil Beylerbeyi Vocational and Technical High School, which ranks second, has 3 departments: Food and Beverage Services, Machinery Technology, and Electrical and Electronic Technology. Only the Food and Beverage Services department has a turnover of 7 million liras at the school, which operates like a factory. 250 of the school’s 890 students study in this department. The school’s director, Selçuk Eroğlu, said the following about his work:
“Our school kitchen produces meals for 20,000 people every day. We send these meals to the Yavuzeli State Hospital, women’s guesthouses under the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, bus students and the Islamic University of Science and Technology. We also provide meals to hospitals in Elbab and Jarablus in the Euphrates Shield region. 43 of our students work in the kitchen, while others work in different areas. We have 3 thousand square meter workshops. They compare our working areas and production capacity to a factory, but I don’t think a factory can follow us. In our work system, the preparation of tomorrow is done from this day. The menu is determined in advance, where and how many meals will be served. At 03:00 in the evening, our master teachers come to work. At 06:00, our students are included in this study. Once the food starts to come out, it is also distributed. As students receive an education and gain work experience here, they also earn an income. This income ranges from 1,500 lira per month to the minimum wage. Our main objective regarding the work we do is to increase the number of institutions we serve. Our goal is to increase the production capacity by 7 million lira, which we achieved in 3 months, and to reach a monthly turnover of 6 million lira. We are in discussions with a large public hospital on this issue, if we conclude this agreement, we will reach the numbers we are aiming for. »
GAIN EXPERIENCE AND MONEY
Another school that looks like a high-capacity food factory is Istanbul Kumburgaz Anatolian Vocational and Technical High School. The school’s director, Süleyman Çakır, summarized how they work:
“We have 220 students enrolled in our school. We produce food for public institutions and private companies. Our capacity is 10,000, but at the moment we are preparing meals for 6,000 people a day. 30 students work in the kitchen and 6 students in our training hotel. In addition, our students carry out the production on site at our facilities at Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Hospital. Our students provide meals for hospital staff, doctors and companions. At the beginning of production, we have master trainers from former graduates. We also send meals from institutions such as Büyükçekmece District National Education Directorate, School for the Deaf, Ayşe Erkan Girls Imam Hatip High School. Our turnover has increased as production has increased, but our main goal is to involve as many students as possible rather than increasing turnover. Our students earn money as well as experience. Last month alone we paid 73,000 lira to 100 students. Among them there are those who earn 100 lira and those who earn 4 thousand 300 lira.
The kitchen, which has a high production capacity, was in a dilapidated state until about 2 years ago. With an investment of 1 million lira, this place has been transformed into a modern food factory. (Freedom)