Pandemic in Turkey: Quarantine imposed, education suspended in 50 schools

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The Education and Science Laborers' Union (Eğitim-Sen) has released its second weekly report on face-to-face education amid the pandemic.

While the union published its first report on March 9, its recent report covering the period from March 5 to 12 has shown that education has been suspended in 50 schools and they have been quarantined. The authorities have also decided to quarantine 11 classrooms and one dormitory.

In this one-week period, primary and secondary schools in İpsala district in Turkey's northwestern province of Edirne neighboring Greece have been closed. The schools of four villages in Vezirköprü district in the Black Sea province of Samsun have also been closed.

One school principal and one vice principal have lost their lives due to coronavirus, while 141 teachers have either tested positive for the virus, are close contacts with coronavirus cases or in quarantine.

269 students and 22 school personnel have also tested positive for the coronavirus, are close contacts or quarantined in this period.

The union has noted that while citizens have so far received 11 million doses of the vaccine, 8 million the first dose and 3 million the second dose, this number is only 80 thousand amond education personnel.

'It shows only a part of the reality'

The statement of the Eğitim-Sen union has emphasized that "resuming face-to-face education under outbreak conditions requires a serious strategy and an additional budget in line with this strategy."

Criticizing the Ministry of National Education for "depriving millions of students of tablets, computers and Internet support during distance education," the union has noted that "this time, the Ministry has deprived its education laborers of vaccines, been unable to provide students with less crowded classrooms, has not appointed additional staff as needed, has not assigned a health worker per school, cannot increase the number of toilets used by students and teachers or pioneered in developing a strategy for accessing schools in healthy conditions."

Referring to the figures it has recently shared on a weekly basis, the union has warned that "the table, consisting of the data obtained by the union with its own means, shows only a part of the reality."

"What our table clearly shows is this: The failure to provide education laborers with widespread vaccination, the most primary measure against the outbreak, puts the sustainability of face-to-face education at risk, because the number of cases is significantly increasing," the union has said.

"The Ministry of National Education needs to know that vaccination is the first measure of vital importance for a continued face-to-face education and it needs to ensure that all education laborers are vaccinated on the level of a mobilization and as soon as possible," the union has indicated further, adding, "All other measures must also be put into place immediately." (AÖ/SD)

* Click here for the full table (in Turkish)