The principal and vice principal of a high school in İzmit, Kocaeli were dismissed in July 2024 on suspicion of involvement in a large-scale fraud worth 700 million Turkish lira (about €19.2 million). The two school administrators, Rümeysa Şen and Selda Karakaş, allegedly participated in the fake registration of thousands of students in the state-run Vocational Education Center Project (MESEM). An investigation has been launched, and the media has published a list of the fraud’s alleged beneficiaries, but there have been no further developments as of the time of writing.

According to the Kocaeli Deputy of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Harun Özgür Yıldızlı, the alleged scam came to light when a citizen in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır accessed the e-government portal and saw that – unbeknownst to him – he was enrolled in a vocational training program in Kocaeli on the other side of the country. After contacting officials through CIMER (a system that enables citizens to contact the presidency of Türkiye with complaints or information requests), the Provincial Directorate of National Education was alerted, and an investigation subsequently launched by the Kocaeli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

The investigation report by the Disciplinary Board of the Ministry of National Education claims that 22,000 fictious trainees were registered through MESEM in the Izmit Atatürk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. MESEM, which was designed to provide vocational training to high school students, was integrated into the education system in Türkiye in 2016 and was significantly expanded during the term of the former minister of national education Mahmut Özer between 2021 and 2023.

According to media reports, following the launch of the investigation into the case, it was revealed that a number of companies, educational institutions and associations in Kocaeli benefited from the fake apprentice registration scheme. The beneficiaries include a woman’s association chaired by Şen, the former principal of the high school where the students were registered. However, as noted by the CHP Kocaeli deputy Yıldızlı, the fact that there were over 22,000 fictious apprentices registered in around 1,000 companies suggests that the organisation of the scheme likely involved a much larger network. In fact, allegations of irregularity have been made against MESEM in other cities in Türkiye.

This case suggests evidence of systematic extraction of public resources for the benefit of narrow private interests. If shown to be true, it could further erode trust in institutions and public education programmes. Additionally, this case has caused sizable economic damage, considering that the misallocated funds could have been used to improve educational programs for youth.