Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education

Turkey will resume face-to-face learning five days a week beginning Sept. 6, the education minister said on Aug. 19.

Education Minister Mahmut Özer said the country wants to continue full-time face-to-face learning unless health conditions dictate otherwise.

Nearly half of Turkish students have difficulty focusing on online classes, while a significant part of them have started to worry about their future during the pandemic, according to a COVID-19 impact report.

A study prepared by the Tüvana Education Foundation for Children Willing to Study (TOÇEV) revealed how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the education system in Turkey.

From 31 May, schools will resume in-person learning for all students from fifth to eleventh grade. This is done according to an order of the caretaker Health Minister issued on 18 May 2021.

Schools will continue to implement anti-epidemic measures already in place: thorough disinfection and wearing protective masks. As before, contacts between different classes will be limited.

Based on local virus risk levels, Turkey's provincial health institutions will determine whether in-person education for certain grades continues, the National Education Ministry announced late on March 29. 

The criteria announced on March 1 will be effective in determining the course of in-person education, said a ministry statement.

The decision was taken in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and after the recommendation of the special infectious disease committee

Face-to-face education in Turkey will not start before Feb. 15, as the Education Ministry has extended the period of distance learning at schools amid a high number of COVID-19 cases.

Distance education in primary, secondary, and high schools will continue until Jan. 22, the end of the first semester of the 2020-2021 academic year, the ministry said in a circular issued on Dec.18.