World Bank launches school construction projects for refugees in Turkey

The World Bank has partnered with a number of Turkish agencies and the European Union to construct schools for Syrian refugees in Turkey, according to a statement from the lender.

Funded by the EU and implemented by the KFW Development Bank and the World Bank, the "School Construction Projects under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey" aims to support the Turkish government to improve access to education for Syrians under temporary protection, as well as their host communities, by expanding disaster-resilient education infrastructure in priority provinces, according to the statement that was released on Jan. 30. 

With total financing of 150 million euros from a European Commission grant under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRiT), the World Bank will administer a recipient-executed trust fund that will be implemented by Turkey's Education Ministry through its Construction and Real Estate Department (CRED), in coordination with Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD). 

The project will focus primarily on Turkey's southeastern and southern provinces of Adana, Mersin, Hatay, Kilis, Kahramanmaraş and Osmaniye, where the majority of school-age Syrians reside, and where Turkey currently hosts the highest concentration of out-of-school students. In addition, the project will facilitate the expansion of education infrastructure investments in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, İzmir, Konya and Kayseri, which host a high number of Syrian refugee children and possess a concentration of out-of-school Syrian students at the district level. 

As the project aims to provide additional education facilities to help implement the government's policy of integrating Syrian students into Turkish schools, the direct beneficiaries will be...