Some 20 mln students return to school after summer break

ISTANBUL

More than 20 million students and over 1 million teachers resumed classes on Sept. 11, beginning the new academic year after a three-month-long summer break.

While kindergarten, primary school and high school students starting their educational journey have already been attending schools for the past week as part of orientation and adaptation programs, other students from higher levels joined them on Sept. 11, reuniting with their friends and teachers.

Students living in the quake-hit provinces will attend a mandatory remediation program until Oct. 6 to compensate for academic losses incurred during the spring semester when schools were closed due to the devastating quakes in early February.

With approximately 1.1 million teachers resuming their lessons, nearly half of around 45,000 newly appointed teachers will be providing education in earthquake-affected areas.

Additionally, as part of the renovation and strengthening efforts for schools in the quake-hit region, 48,000 classrooms have been prepared for the new academic year, with students starting lessons in 2,571 classrooms in prefabricated buildings for the first time.

The Education Ministry completed the distribution of approximately 200 million textbooks to schools one week before the start of the academic year.

According to the ministry’s academic calendar, the autumn term in education will conclude on Jan. 19, 2024.

On the first workday of the week, as schools reopened, Istanbul, the mega city hosting 19 million people, witnessed heavy traffic congestion on the roads, as traffic density reached 62 percent around 8:30 p.m.

The governor’s office and the municipality took necessary precautions on the first day of school, including additional services for all public transportation vehicles. The municipality announced that it has also increased personnel monitoring traffic flow through the city's traffic cameras during the first three days.

Works at construction sites in the city will not take place this week except for essential tasks that will continue during the night shift.

This new academic year welcomes students with several crucial changes made at elementary, middle and high school levels, such as the removal of the examination system in primary schools and the reintroduction of grade retention in high schools should a student fail to achieve academic proficiency.

The first bell also rang for Demirören Media High School, a vocational school that will train young journalist candidates who will be well-equipped with skills to work in the country’s media sector.

Among the participants of the school’s opening ceremony were Meltem Demirören, the vice-chair of Demirören Holding, many Demirören Group executives, Atila Ertoğan, the school principal, students and their parents.

The students will be trained with a full syllabus from print media to digital media, from broadcasting to podcasting and from social media to the YouTube platform, for five years, including a preparatory year during which native English-speaking teachers will teach their language.