Some 974 new school libraries were inaugurated in Türkiye’s southeastern city of Şanliurfa as part of the "No Schools Without Libraries" project. The libraries have been furnished with furniture, shelves, cabinets and reading tables made by high school students enrolled in vocational schools.
The project, implemented with support form the National Ministry of Education (MEB) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was initiated for schools in Şanlıurfa that do not have libraries. It was launched in 2021 under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wife Emine Erdoğan, and within the scope of the project, 974 new libraries were added to schools across the city.
The project aims to increase the quality of education in Türkiye, by providing equal educational opportunities.
Fevzi Kurt, provincial director of National Education, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that there are currently 1,433 libraries in schools across Şanlıurfa province. Underlining that within the framework of the stated project, Şanliurfa became richer with new libraries Kurt also said that the sole establishment of libraries was not enough. ''The libraries need to be supported with books. Around 1 million books are available in our libraries, but this number needs to increase. The ministry has set a target in this regard, and we have set a target of seven books for each student. Apart from this, a separate study was started in our city for the purpose of achieving this literary goal,'' the director stated.
''Currently, 2,360,000 books are allocated in our libraries. This is not enough, and we aim to increase it to approximately 5 million," he mentioned.
Referring to another project – "Urfa is Reading," led by the Governor's Office – Kurt noted that 10,000 books are given as gifts to students every month, while they hold reading sessions with the students for 40 minutes once a week.
Emphasizing that their aim in the city, with 776,000 students, is to ensure that every student has a book at home, Kurt also noted that their goal is to transform libraries into primary centers of learning and also a type of living space. "With this aim, we are working hard on success and opportunity disparities among schools throughout our province," he stressed.
Saniye Olgaç, a student at Eyyübiye Ayhan Şahenk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, said that she reads a book every week as part of the "Urfa is Reading" project.
Explaining that they chat with friends about the books they read, Olgaç said, "Thanks to the library established in our school, we have easier access to books. We can go to the library every day and have the opportunity to read in a nice and quiet environment. We exchange the books we read with our friends. Books introduce us to different worlds. As we read, our perspectives on life change. Books widen our horizons," she said.
Another student, Medine Açmak also stated that she gained the habit of reading books thanks to the library at school.
