29 Sep 2015
The number of Syrian refugees who will be continuing their education in Turkey has increased for the upcoming school year, which starts on Monday, with the Turkish government aiming to provide a means of education for around 370,000 refugee students this year.
According to a report published by the Hürriyet daily on Saturday, the student capacity of schools established at both refugee camps and in urban centers for the 2014-2015 school year was 199,000. This capacity has now been increased to 299,000.
There are now plans for another 50 schools to be established for the 2015-2016 school year, which is expected to increase the student capacity by at least 100,000 to meet the anticipated need. Some 370,000 refugee students are expected to attend school in Turkey this year. Last year there were total of 32 schools in refugee camps while there were 232 temporary education centers built in cities where many Syrian refugees live.
Syrian refugees in Turkey are educated using a Syrian curriculum. During the 2014-2015 school year, 82,422 refugees attended schools located in refugee camps, among whom 45,147 were studying at the primary school level and 19,536 were in middle school. Similarly, a total of 105,765 refugee students attended temporary facilities located in city centers, with 59,450 in primary school and 32,470 students studying at the middle school level. The total number of high school students at both types of location was as low as 9,400.
In addition to the students attending classes at temporary urban education centers and schools at refugee camps, last year a total of 38,757 Syrians were integrated into Turkey’s regular public school system, including kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools and high schools. This number is expected to reach some 70,000 for the upcoming school year.