Students in Adana forced to go to school using horse due to minibus no-show

ADANA

Students from a village in the southern Turkish province of Adana are having to travel to school in a horse-drawn cart, as the minibus that previously served them no longer comes, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Nov. 3.

Students living in the Burhanlı village in Adana’s Ceyhan district are now forced to go to school, which is 3.5 kilometers away from their village, either in a horse-drawn cart, on foot, or on bicycle.

The Burhanlı village head, Zeki Durgun, said the cooperatively owned school minibus that previously served students did not come to the village any more, despite a shuttle service having to be provided by law.

“The cooperative minibus does not come to our village anytime. Our students and their parents are experiencing difficulty,” Durgun added. 

Turan Akpınar, the Education Ministry’s provincial head in Adana, said regulations about the transport of students to schools had been amended. 

Akpınar said students living in areas accessible by public transport did not legally have to be provided shuttle services.

He also added that similar issues in a number of other villages had resulted from a disagreement between minibus cooperatives and the government.

“Some of transportation cooperatives do not accept the price that was designated by the government. They want higher prices. Therefore they do not carry the students,” Akpınar said.