800 teachers appointed to quake stricken Van

Turkey’s Education Ministry announced yesterday the appointment of 800 new teachers to Van in an effort to ensure that classes in the province resume smoothly when schools re-open after the area’s devastating Oct. 23 earthquake.

The 800 teachers were selected out of 23,980 candidates based on the highest scores. Those who do not show up in Van for the resumption of classes on Nov. 14 will see their appointments canceled.

In addition, the Education Ministry said it had started taking applications from teachers who volunteered to work in Van or to take on extra classes.

More than 60 teachers, most of them young people at the beginning of their careers, have been confirmed dead, while about 40 others remain unaccounted for after the quake. The majority perished in a café where a celebration was under way for a couple of newly-engaged colleagues, as well as in an apartment block which housed mostly teachers.

Meanwhile, Higher Education Board head Yusuf Ziya Özcan visited Van on Nov. 2 and inspected Van Yüzüncü Yıl University. Özcan announced that the university would be able to restart its programs in February 2012.