Şanlıurfa school forced to cram 133 students into classroom

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

Students at a school in Şanlıurfa have literally been left sitting cheek and jowl, as a lack of room at Çıkrık village’s elementary school means 133 pupils are forced to study together in the same classroom, Doğan news agency reported today.

Four or five students have to sit together on the same desk in two first-grade classrooms, which have 133 and 130 students, respectively.

The density in upper classes is reportedly lower than in the primary grades.

The reason for the overcrowding at the southeastern province’s Raif Mumcu Elementary School – which gives education to a total of 1,285 students – is a lack of classrooms at the school, which gives instruction to students from nearby villages as part of a mobile education system. 

The families of students have been complaining about the situation, saying the children cannot receive a healthy education while struggling to avoid falling out of their chairs.

Portable classrooms will be placed in the school as a temporary solution, while a new school will be built next year in the village, Siverek District Gov. Hamza Erkal said.