In his statement, Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer reminded that formal and non-formal education was suspended after 6 February in 10 provinces affected by earthquakes and declared a state of emergency.
Stating that schools and lifelong learning institutions were opened in Kilis, Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa on March 1, and in Adana, Osmaniye and Gaziantep on March 13, Özer said that Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, which were the most affected by the earthquake and whose education was interrupted until 27 March, were opened. He also noted that courses in public education centers and maturation institutes were put into operation upon requests for participation in lifelong learning activities in Malatya, Turkey.
Stating that education services for all age groups continue in the earthquake region, Özer continued as follows:
“Our courses help our citizens, who come together and contribute to production, to get through this process. Therefore, we have activated all of the courses within our public education centers and maturation institutes so that our earthquake victims can do social and cultural studies. In tent cities and container cities established in the region, We have created Lifelong Learning Coordination and Support Centers. 20 thousand 745 citizens participate in our 1560 free courses opened as of March 13.” said.
Minister Özer currently teaches 2 thousand 16 courses in 145 courses in Adana, 49 courses in 4 courses in Adıyaman, 2 thousand 83 courses in 168 courses in Diyarbakır, 1225 courses in 78 courses in Gaziantep, 4 thousand 84 courses in 335 courses in Kilis, and 6 courses in Malatya. He noted that 74, 8 thousand 161 in 644 courses in Osmaniye and 3 thousand 53 trainees in 180 courses in Şanlıurfa.
“Family School for Parents”, “Playroom for 37-72 months old children”, “Mathematical Competence and Basic Competencies in Science and Technology” and “Quran Reading” were preferred the most among the free courses opened by the Ministry in 10 provinces.