All schools to be environmentally friendly by 2023’

ANKARA

Education Minister Mahmut Özer has stated that his ministry transformed 1,000 schools into “environmentally friendly” schools, adding that all schools will be environmentally friendly in by 2023.

Minister Özer attended the award ceremony of the “High School Students Congress and Poster Presentation Competition” at the Ankara Chamber of Commerce Fair and Congress Center.

High school students who won the degree in the competition received their awards from Özer.

Giving a speech at the ceremony, the minister said that such events for students will be held every month and the expenses will also be covered by his ministry.

The ministry also touched upon the environmental efforts of the ministry, stating that they carried out important works regarding the environmental problems and climate crisis in a year.

“We are the second ministry to announce the ‘Environmental Action Plan’ under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan,” Özer explained.

He stated that they converted 1,000 schools into environmentally friendly schools in the capital Ankara.

“We will make all our schools ‘environmentally friendly’ in 2023,” Özer added.

The environmentally friendly school with solar power plants, rain collection units, waste assessment applications and a zero-waste library increase students’ awareness regarding the environment and nature.

“In 2023, we will install solar power plants with a power capacity of 60 megawatts in our 1,000 schools that consume the most energy,” Özer announced.

Reminding that they have made changes in the curriculum for children to raise awareness about global warming and the climate crisis, Özer stated that secondary school students will be able to take the environment and climate change course as an elective for the first time.

Within the scope of the “Zero-Waste Project,” led by Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan in a bid to reduce the volume of non-recyclable waste, the recycling rate in Türkiye increased from 13 percent to 27 percent, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum stated in September.

With the project, which also aims to use resources more efficiently, a transition to a zero-waste management system has been achieved in 154,000 buildings and campuses so far, while plans were prepared for the implementation of the system in all of the country’s 81 provinces.