Page 80 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

amount of 8,700,120,00 TL has been paid to 72,021 beneficiaries since then. Payments
are made every two months in parallel with the national program according to the
genders and grades of the children, and it is targeted to reach 230,000 children.

It is expected that the agreement with the EU and the support provided will play
an important role in these efforts. Considering the difficulties that Syrians living in
cities experience covering basic needs due to financial reasons, it is understandable
that children cannot attend school because of the cost of education. To find a solution
for transportation problems preventing Syrian students from accessing schools, the
Ministry of National Education stated that negotiations are in progress on the signing
of a protocol with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to provide
transportation for 20,000 students. In addition, the transportation expenses of 45,000
students can be covered by the grant agreement with the EU, and transportation services
will be provided for 40,000 students within the scope of the Supporting the Integration
of Syrians Under Temporary Protection into the Turkish Education System project.

In order to certify education given in Türkiye, the Ministry of National Education held
the “High School Equivalency Exam and Proficiency for Foreign Students” in June
2015 and June 2016. Of the 6,530 students who entered the equivalency exam held
in June 2016, 57.93% were successful. Students in TTCs who were in the 12th grade
were registered in open education schools as of May 2017, and by the end of July, 8,002
students had met the graduation requirements from open education schools.

Students who are awarded accreditation and have enrolled at universities are able to
apply for the scholarship program of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related
Communities. As of the 2016-2017 academic year, a total of 2,911 students were granted
scholarships: 1,670 in Türkiye by the Prime Ministry Presidency for Turks Abroad and
Related Communities and 1,241 by the Syria Project Scholarship Programs.

The Ministry of National Education is trying to reach out to enrolled Syrian children
as well as unschooled children who are at home or in the streets and integrate them into
the system without destabilizing the Turkish education system. However, this requires
serious strategic planning and preparation, and Turkish teachers may also experience
problems due to students using a different language and alphabet, especially advanced
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students. According to the Education Monitoring Report , calculating that there is 1
teacher for every 20 students in Türkiye, and considering that the school-aged population

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M. M. Erdoğan “Syrians in Türkiye and Education,” Education Monitoring Report 2015-2016, Ed. Üstün
Ergüder, p. 45-50. ISBN: 978-605-9178-68-6, 2016.

80 SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT