Epidemic Diseases And Measures Taken In Schools In Istanbul In The First Years Of The Republic

Abstract

One of the problematic areas that existed when the Republic was founded was health. In fact, there was a significant lack of infrastructure, equipment, personnel and facilities in this field. As a result, diseases caused by various reasons could turn into epidemics. In particular, many epidemics of infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, chickenpox, whooping cough, whooping cough and croup (diphtheria) and trachoma occurred during this period. In addition to affecting the society, these epidemics had negative repercussions especially on the education process. In order to prevent the spread of the disease during epidemics, various measures were taken in schools to protect students and public health. In this context, preventive measures such as suspending education in schools, informing teachers and students about epidemics and diseases, observing cleanliness and hygiene conditions, and providing vaccination and health screenings to students were implemented. All these processes were carried out with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Muavenet-i İçtimaiye and the governorates. As a matter of fact, in the event of an outbreak, the provincial directorates of the relevant ministries would inspect schools and, as a result, recommend measures such as suspending education.

Based on these developments, this study analyses the epidemics and diseases seen in schools in Istanbul in the early years of the Republic (1923-1930) and the multifaceted measures implemented by the state against them. Thus, it is aimed to reveal what kind of effects the pandemic situation has on educational processes and what approaches are taken to overcome the problem. In addition, the cooperation and coordination of education and health authorities in this regard were also mentioned. The sources of the study, in which the findings obtained are evaluated by qualitative research method and document analysis, are the literature on the subject, especially the documents of the Republican Archives within the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye State Archives Presidency.