Education Minister: Turkey plans to reopen schools from Feb. 15

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

"We have made a policy decision on reopening schools as of Feb. 15," Ziya Selcuk said in an interview with CNN Turk on Sunday evening.

The decision on possible scenarios of school reopening will be decide and shared with the public 10 days before the scheduled reopening date, Selcuk added.

Pointing out that the decision will be taken in line with instructions from the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, he said it is not possible yet to reopen all classes at once not only in Turkey but also in many countries around the world due to the pandemic.


He advised children to stay away from online platforms and to focus on physical activities.

Booklets on activities that can be done during the holiday term have been prepared, he said, adding that they will be available mostly online and some in printed form towards the end of next week.

After partially reopening schools in late September, Turkey resumed its distance learning education system as of Nov. 20 until Jan. 4, 2021.

Remote learning has been continuing through national broadcaster TRT's Education Information Network (EBA) channels and live courses, while all teachers can carry out live lessons through the EBA.