A make-up classes program for students in 10 provinces impacted by the two devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye in February will be held between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, National Education Minister Mahmut Özer announced Monday.
Answering questions regarding the education status in southeastern provinces in a live interview, the minister pointed out that education in the academic 2022-2023 year would end as of June 16, 2023.
Noting that some 35,694 students who were transferred to schools in the other provinces across the country following the 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes returned to the quake-hit areas as schools reopened, Özer also said that out of approximately 256,000 students in the quake region, around 67,025 students who will start high school education as of the next academic year chose to take the entrance exam (LGS) in some of 71 other provinces.
When asked about the provinces where education and training resumed, Özer stated that they had divided the areas in the region into three categories according to how severely they were impacted by the earthquakes. He noted that schools in Kilis, Dıyarbakır and Şanlıurfa reopened on March 1, while the schools and educational institutions in the provinces of Gaziantep, Osmaniye and Adana resumed classes on March 13.
He also noted that schools categorized as "ready" in the hard-hit provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Malatya and Hatay resumed the education process on March 27, including eight Malatya districts, two in Kahramanmaraş, seven in Hatay and five in Adıyaman. "As of today, education has restarted in all districts in the earthquake zone," he added.
Make-up program
Elaborating on the details of the make-up program, which is set to be optional, the minister noted that required preparations for compensating the learning losses of students in the 10 provinces had been completed.
"The necessary materials and documents were also printed quickly. When the 2023-2024 academic year starts, we will continue this program for one month," he explained.
Providing further information, the minister also recalled that 45,000 teachers are set to be appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in schools across the country.
"The appointment of 45,000 teachers is the highest at one time in the last 20 years. As of May 8, we will make these appointments. We will assign more than 50% of teachers to support the restoration works in our 10 provinces, and we will focus on the earthquake zone," Özer said.
In addition, the minister also pointed out that considering the delays in the second semester due to the earthquakes, the required adjustments will be made for the students to complete their grade levels.
"To ensure a smooth transition for our students in the 10 provinces, especially taking into consideration delays in the second semester and the students who will take the exams, when the second-semester grades are lower than the first-semester grades, the first-semester grade will be valid, but if the second-semester grade is higher than the first-semester grade, the average mark will be taken," he explained.
Following the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye’s southeastern region, killing over 50,000 people, undamaged schools in 22 districts of the worst-hit provinces Kahramanmaraş, Malatya, Hatay and Adıyaman resumed their education with the ring bell on Monday morning. Therefore, 77 days after the earthquake and following the recent spring mid-break, the education process continues in Türkiye’s 81 provinces.