Turkey Implements School Digital Risk Monitoring

Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announced the implementation of a student-based risk analysis system following recent school attacks. The plan aims to move away from the current model of assigning two police officers to every school, which is deemed unsustainable for 75,000 schools. Security personnel may be provided through service procurement or general budget allocations to ensure long-term sustainability. The Turkish Ministry has issued a directive to redesign school risk assessments using a scoring system for provinces. The new analysis includes digital risks such as cyberbullying, social media targeting, and violent content. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms will be established for students identified within high-risk groups. A guideline has been sent to provinces regarding how risk scores will be calculated. Education Minister Yusuf Tekin said the need for digital security and support for children facing peer pressure and uncontrolled digital content. The initiative focuses on helping the younger generation navigate the challenges of the digital age, including tablet and phone usage. Incident reporting protocols will be sent to all relevant units upon detection of targeted social media content. Turkish authorities have introduced a Cyber Incident Response Procedure to monitor digital risks in schools. Relevant units will be notified immediately upon detection of these digital threats.