Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Kadir Topbaş, the mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, expressed that as the Metropolitan Municipality they were alone responsible for twenty-six percent (26%) of the total investments made in Turkey, and said that they shared a great happiness in training staff at the school.

Mr. Kadir Topbaş mentioned that they remembered Prof. Dr. Sabahattin Zaim, whose name was given to the grade school, with gratitude and said that the students trained by Dr. Sabahattin Zaim at Istanbul University were on duty right now and President Abdullah Gül was among his students. Dr. Sabahattin Zaim contributed efforts to many other students in Istanbul who attended the college where he used to teach. Mayor Mr. Topbaş expressed that as of today, Esenyurt was not like it was five years ago and many beneficial services have been provided to the district of Esenyurt. He stated, “Someone says something like, ‘Those people did not perform any services for Istanbul for fifteen years.’ What we are saying is that that’s a false claim. That is the work and its reflection.”

KİPTAŞ has built 36 schools so far…

Mayor Kadir Topbaş pointed out that the strengths of a nation are not measured by its population, but by its human resources and indicated that so far KİPTAŞ has built 36 schools and 1,500 classrooms and that  construciton work for three schools is in the process. The two of these schools are located in Diyarbakır and Patnos, Ağrı and a center for individuals with special needs was established in Batman. He said that Turkey should be competing with the world and Istanbul is a leading city in this issue. He continued, “As parents, we have a great responsibility. Poorly behaved friends lead children to bad actions. You have to know who your children consider friends. Know who they are and who the child's parents are. You cannot tell your child ‘read your book’  while you are sitting in front of the TV. You  must start this before everyone else. You are the greatest example for you own children. The greatest responsibility in this regard belongs to the families.”

Speaking at the ceremony, once Mr. Harun Kaya, the Deputy Governor of Istanbul, noted that Dr. Sabahattin Zaim has provided a very great service to the nation. He also said that not only the places but also the improvement in the quality of education have been very important. Mr. Kaya continued that as Istanbul Governer’s Office, they were trying to struggle to make things better in the field of education. As for Mr. Muammer Yıldız, the Istanbul Province National Education Director noted that the Esenyurt district of Istanbul is among the places that should be given more priority in terms of education. He also personally thanked  KIPTAŞ (Istanbul Public Housing Corporation) and Mayor Mr. Topbaş for their efforts and the support provided by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Mr. Yıldız reminded that the first semester of the 2009-10 academic year would be completed tomorrow and he emphasized that parents should not evaluate their children only by looking at their school reports to guage if they are successful or unsuccessful. After the speeches,  Mayor Mr. Topbaş and his companies held the school’s opening ceremony. Then Mr. Topbaş visited the classrooms of the new grade shool. After taking pictures with the students, he played ball with some of the students.