19,000 teachers served students with autism in Turkey: Education minister

ANKARA

Turkey provided special education services for 41,854 students with autism in 1,521 special education schools with 19,357 teachers, Education Minister Mahmut Özer has said.

Answering a parliamentary question of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul deputy Sibel Özdemir regarding studies on the education of children with autism, the minister said, support education rooms are opened in educational institutions for students with special training needs who continue their education in the same class with their peers through full-time inclusion/integration, daily Milliyet reported.

It is aimed that these students benefit from education services at the highest level, he added.

The ministry carried out work to establish the standards for the physical environment and materials and the equipment of the support training rooms have been completed, and a total of 638 support training rooms, 37 of which were prepared in 2021, were equipped in line with the determined standards in order to provide more qualified and efficient education, Özer stated.

In addition, standards regarding the physical environment and materials and equipment of the special education classes served within the scope of part-time inclusion practices were established, and a total of 174 special education classes, 41 of which were in 2021, were made ready in line with the standards, the minister said.

New model adaptation studies are continuing and are planned to be implemented to increase the quality and quantity of education services through full-time inclusion/integration for pre-school students with autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and who are at risk, he noted.

Within the scope of the Awareness-Raising Activity for families and NGOs, the preparatory work for the event campaigns to be held in 12 pilot provinces continues, the minister said, adding that preparations are being made for the Educational Integration Summit to be held on June 21-22.

In non-formal education institutions, there are 502 non-formal education course programs prepared, published and in practice for individuals with special education needs, he noted.