Children in the western province of Aydın feel more at home in their school thanks to the "shoeless school" project, which follows the Turkish tradition of taking off shoes when entering a home.

The shoeless school opened with the motto "My School Is My Other Home" for the beginning of the new school year Monday.

Students take off their shoes at the school entrance and put on their indoor slippers before joining classes in Aydın's Yılmazköy primary school, which has been redesigned with parquet floors.

"We have gotten off to a great start for the school year to educate a significant number of students," said Yavuz Selim Köşger, the governor of the province, and added: "If you want to develop and improve your country, you need to be concerned about every inch of it... but you have to do it without breaking from the country's own roots and national values." "Teachers, students and parents must take off their shoes at the entrance and put them in the assigned lockers," said Seyfullah Okumuş, the provincial director of national education.

The physical environment makes students "feel at home, keeps them calm and peaceful, boosts their concentration and reduces peer bullying at school," Okumuş added.