School year starts for millions of students in Türkiye

ANKARA 

Approximately 19 million students and 1.2 million teachers in primary and secondary education institutions affiliated to the Education Ministry will start the 2022-2023 academic year today.

The first break of the 2022-2023 academic year will be held on Nov. 14-18. It will be followed by the semester break on Jan. 23-Feb. 3, 2023, and a second one-week break will be held on April 17-20, 2023.

The academic year will end on June 16, 2023.

Public transportation in Istanbul will be free of charge today between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Having completed its preparations for the new academic year, the Education Ministry provided 136 million auxiliary books to students free of charge, in addition to textbooks.

Some 60,000 cleaners were assigned to ensure a healthy environment in schools, while a total of 3.1 million Turkish Liras ($170.000) was allocated to schools within the scope of preparation for the academic year.

Over 1,400 nurseries and 10,200 kindergartens were put into service for the new school year.

Some 800 idle school buildings in the villages were converted into wellness centers and this number is targeted to reach 6,970 by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that students and teachers in schools will not have to wear face masks.

“No need to worry, anyone who wants to wear a face mask can, but it will not be mandatory.”

However, those who feel the symptoms of COVID-19 should wear one to avoid infecting others, Koca urged.

“An important group that needs to be protected is our children with additional diseases,” said the minister. “It is important for our children in this situation to be vaccinated as they should be protected more carefully.”

The minister also warned elderly citizens with additional diseases to wear face masks before entering crowded environments.