Turkey to intensify vocational schools: Erdoğan 

ANKARA 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to increase the number of vocational schools and strengthen their research and development capacity in a bid to improve the quality of technical abilities of employees in public and private sectors. 

“We have invested 1 billion Turkish Liras in a year in schools selected as part of a project that aims to strengthen the vocational schools,” Erdoğan said at a ceremony for the inauguration of 50 R&D centers under the “1,000 Schools in Vocational Training Project” on Oct. 11 in Ankara. 

Announcing that the state will provide new incentives to vocational schools and increase the salaries given to vocational school students who started to work as an apprentice, President Erdoğan said, “All these moves will take vocational schools to a new level.” 

The number of students enrolled in vocational schools has increased in the past years, while families are planning the career of their children in a smoother way, the president stressed, underlining that measures were being taken for the participation of graduates of vocational schools in the workforce. 

“I am of the belief that these schools will contribute more to the economy of our country in the future,” he stated. 

Erdoğan also warned the nation to remain vigilant in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic for the continuation of face-to-face education. “No major problem has been observed in the past five weeks. We should continue to implement the measures so that this continues without problem,” he said. 

Underlining the importance of vaccination for population immunity, Erdoğan stressed, “The more successful we are in vaccination, the more comfortable we will be during the winter period.” 

Erdoğan also hailed the ongoing cooperation between authorities of schools and families to keep schools open by respecting the measures against the coronavirus.