1,500 new village life centers opened: Özer

Zülal Atagün - IZMIR

Education Minister Mahmut Özer has attended the inauguration ceremony of 1,500 village life centers, stating that the ministry has prioritized their projects about improving education in the country’s villages.

Minister Özer attended the mass opening ceremony of the village life centers in the western province of Izmir’s Urla district, which started with a folk-dance performance by the students of Menemen Seyrek Elementary School.

Özer pointed out that the total number of village life centers has now reached 3,500 with the 1,500 new village life centers that were opened collectively.

Touching upon the pre-school education problem as well, Özer said that in the last 20 years, Türkiye has been struggling to increase its higher-level schooling rates, and the country has not realized the importance of pre-school education for a child’s development.

“Preschool is where inequality of opportunity in education begins. If some of the children in a country attend preschool and some do not, inequality starts there. If you look at studies, especially in the United States, you will see that an individual who has attended preschool education stays in education and employment for a much longer period than an individual who has not attended preschool education,” the minister stated.

Stressing that they have worked relentlessly to build thousands of new kindergartens, Özer said they also renovated and allocated idle buildings for this purpose.

As part of his program in Izmir, Minister Özer then visited Balıklıova Elementary School and Village Life Center. In his speech during his visit, the minister emphasized that they gave utmost importance to the issue of the reopening of village schools, and they have given adults the opportunity to take any courses they want.

“That is why we no longer call these places village schools. We call them village life centers. In these centers, adults will receive training in various fields, while our children will be engaged in science, culture and art activities,” Özer added.