Ziya Selçuk

Turkey will reopen schools for all elementary class students as well as for the students of 8th and 12th grade on March 1, Education Minister Ziya Selçuk has said, stressing that the return to schools would be on a voluntary basis.

With the completion of their first semester through online education implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 18 million Turkish students received their virtual mid-term report cards on Jan. 22 and began a three-week winter break.

Turkey is planning to reopen schools starting from Feb. 15, the country's education minister has said, adding that different scenarios are being considered.

Schools were closed on March 16, 2020 days after the country confirmed its first coronavirus case.

Turkey is planning to reopen schools from Feb. 15, said the country's education minister on Jan. 17.

"We have made a policy decision on reopening schools as of Feb. 15," Ziya Selçuk said in an interview with CNN Türk on Jan. 17 evening.

The Education Ministry is considering options for schools to avoid delivering report cards face to face and provide digital report cards instead to students for the ongoing academic year, Education Minister Ziya Selçuk said on Dec. 30.

Turkey is hoping to resume in-person education as soon as conditions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic improve, the country's education minister said on Dec. 13. 

"We are waiting for the conditions to mature to start face-to-face education as soon as possible," Ziya Selçuk told lawmakers during the 2021 budget debate in parliament.

Turkey will reopen universities on Oct. 1 with measures in place to counter the coronavirus, the country's higher education board head has said.

"We asked universities to plan their education calendar starting on Oct. 1," Yekta Saraç said, the head of the Higher Education Board (YÖK) wrote on Twitter.

Turkey plans to re-open schools on Sept. 21 with measures in place to counter the coronavirus after three months of online courses for the new education year, Education Minister Ziya Selçuk said on Aug. 11.

Late this summer, Turkey is set to make up for education missed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the country's National Education Ministry said on June 3. 

The distance education program implemented during the outbreak will end on June 19 as the country enters a normalization period thanks to its success in slowing down the virus' spread, said the ministry in a statement.

Schools will reopen when its completely safe for around 18 million students, and when to begin physical education classes will be determined in line with the recommendations of the Health Ministry's Coronavirus Science Board, Education Minister Ziya Selçuk has said.