Schools gradually reopening in four quake-hit provinces

HATAY

With efforts ongoing to bring life back to normal following deadly quakes in Türkiye’s south, schools are gradually resuming education in 22 districts of Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman and Malatya, the severely devastated provinces.

After the Feb. 6 earthquakes, education was suspended in the cities where the devastation occurred.

In Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the earthquakes where 1,127 school buildings were located, 12 schools were completely destroyed. While debris removal works continue in the region, schools are reopening in Ekinözü and Andırın districts.

In Hatay, five out of 1,315 schools collapsed during the earthquakes.

Following the completion of necessary works to resume education in 494 undamaged schools in Altınözü, Arsuz, Dörtyol, Erzin, Reyhanlı, Payas and Yayladağı districts, students are now back to school.

In Malatya, education resumed in Arapgir, Arguvan, Hekimhan, Pütürge, Doğanyol, Kale, Yazıhan and Darende districts, which were determined to be undamaged.

In Adıyaman, schools reopened in Kahta, Gerger, Sincik, Samsat and Çelikhan districts.

The Education Ministry has sent 9,027,155 textbooks, reference books, notebooks and stationery sets for students in these four provinces.

A ceremony was held at Yıldız Filiz Çalım Elementary School in Reyhanlı district of Hatay with the participation of Lieutenant Governor Oğuzhan Bingöl.

While students expressed their happiness about going back to school, Bingöl stated that they were as happy as the students.

Hopefully, more students will be able to rejoin their schools in time, he noted, thanking all the teachers who prepared the schools and classes for the new semester.

He added that in the severely damaged districts, they are considering establishing tent classrooms as an alternative to school buildings and that they will carry out this project as soon as possible before the end of this school semester.