Issue with Turkish Airlines Discounted Tickets for Transit Passengers

From April 14-19, 2024, a group of eight students and teachers will be traveling to Italy for an Erasmus project. We purchased our tickets through Turkish Airlines' domestic discount campaign. However, we encountered an issue on the website and app. When booking a direct flight from Antalya to Rome, we couldn't benefit from the domestic discount. Therefore, we had to book separate tickets: from Antalya to Istanbul Airport on April 14, and then from Istanbul to Rome. Similarly, on April 19, to take advantage of the discount, we booked tickets from Catania to Istanbul and then from Istanbul to Antalya. The application does not accept the discount unless tickets are booked separately. On April 19, 2024, we will arrive at Istanbul Airport from Catania on flight TK2396 at 19:15. Our connecting flight to Antalya departs at 23:55, giving us only an hour and fifteen minutes. If we are not considered transit passengers, the time required for passport control and rechecking our baggage might cause us to miss our domestic flight. I contacted Turkish Airlines' Help section to request that our luggage be transferred directly to the domestic flight and to be treated as transit passengers. My feedback number is TK10594119. We hoped that our national airline would assist us. However, the response indicated that our flights are not connected and no assistance would be provided. To verify, I checked the Turkish Airlines website for a non-discounted Catania-Antalya ticket on April 19. When a non-discounted ticket is purchased, the flights are considered connected. Yet, when we purchase discounted tickets, our flights are considered unconnected. Facilitating baggage transfer for the country's children should not be this difficult. I can't understand what Turkish Airlines gains by potentially causing a group of children to miss their flight and be stranded at the airport late at night. Is it to sell new tickets if we miss the flight? Attached is a screenshot showing how our tickets are considered connected when purchased without a discount.