Number of life centers in villages reaches 1,600: Minister

ANKARA

Within the scope of a project to convert abandoned schools in villages into “life centers,” where children and their parents can receive education, 1,600 such village schools have been transformed into community centers to date, the Education Ministry has announced.

Once the old school building gets converted into newly-developed village centers, they are supplied with the necessary equipment to facilitate proper education, the ministry said and added that these life centers function as primary schools, kindergartens, or public education centers based on the needs of the region.

The village life centers, whose number reached some 1,600, enable children and parents to receive education in mathematics, environment, science and design, with various workshops taking place from time to time, and have well-equipped libraries, the ministry explained. These life centers become a place where children with their parents can participate in the process of education and learning.

The ministry aims to turn the life centers in the villages into lifelong education centers, where children can meet with experienced people while receiving education and enable culture transfer from generation to generation.

Emphasizing that the village life center project would not be limited to only primary schools, kindergarten and public education centers, the ministry declared that the centers would also provide various training for locals in the region.

The ministry has decided to integrate women’s cooperatives in villages with village life centers to create a mechanism intertwining education with the labor force.