The closing ceremony of the “Education Infrastructure for Resilience” and “Education for All in Times of Crisis I-II” projects, carried out by our General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate through the European Union Financial Support, the World Bank and KfW Development Bank, was held in Ankara. Thus, the last step towards the successful completion of the projects was taken.

The ceremony held at the Mogan VTHS, was attended by our Deputy Minister Mr. Ömer Faruk YELKENCİ, our General Manager Mr. Özcan DUMAN, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Türkiye Mr. Jurgis VILCINSKAS, World Bank Human Development Program Leader Mr. Rene Antonio Leon SOLANO, KfW Development Bank Southeastern Europe and Turkey Municipal Infrastructure. Department Head Mr. Florian SEKINGER and other relevant participants attended.

 

“The Educational Facilities We Build Will Touch the Lives of Millions of Children.”

At the ceremony, our General Manager, Mr. Özcan DUMAN, addressed the participants. Emphasizing the success and effects of the projects in his speech, our General Manager said:

“In our projects, we have completed 210 schools so far and created a capacity of approximately 160 thousand students. Considering that the building performance life is quite long in our projects successfully implemented in 19 provinces, it would not be wrong to say that these buildings will touch the lives of millions of children.

These projects provided an experienced team and the ability to tackle large projects with external funding. I would like to state that we maintain our willingness to use foreign financial sources for projects that will be beneficial to our country and contribute to its development goals.

As the Ministry of National Education, we routinely carry out works on the scale of our current projects in terms of public investments. However, what we find really valuable here is the good results we have achieved with the cooperation we have established with KfW and the World Bank in the management of internationally financed projects and the support of the European Union.

“I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this success, especially my colleagues and international partners, and I wish a productive event for all our participants.”

 

“The Schools We Built Contributed to Meeting the Education Infrastructure Needs in 19 Provinces”

In his speech here, our Deputy Minister, Mr. Ömer Faruk YELKENCİ, reminded that three projects that are a response to the migration problem in terms of educational infrastructure have been completed and said, “As you know, the phenomenon of migration has many dimensions, but from an educational perspective, the basic principles are educational infrastructure, schooling, vocational training and preparation for employment, which feed each other.” “We can talk about three main pillars.”

Noting that it is of great importance to build new schools and ensure children’s access to education in order to reduce the demand-side pressure on educational services due to migration, our Deputy Minister said: “With the successful work we have done in the last decade in the field of both educational infrastructure and access to education, Syrians Under Temporary Protection We managed to increase the schooling rate of our children from 20 percent to over 65 percent.

It directly contributed to meeting approximately 19 percent of this need with 210 schools built as part of the Education Infrastructure for Resilience and Education for All in Times of Crisis I-II projects implemented with the financial support of the European Union. At the same time, the construction of 100 pre-schools has started with the ongoing Education for All in Times of Crisis III Project.”

Emphasizing that Ministry is building hundreds of educational facilities every year with public resources, our Deputy Minister said, “The projects we carry out with the European Union and other international financial institutions make significant contributions to the improvement of the technical design and learning environments of our schools day by day. We see our educational buildings as places where young minds are shaped and new generations are prepared for life; We work to ensure that our schools are places where children, teachers and parents come with happiness and where there is a learning opportunity in every corner.”

Referring to the earthquake disaster that occurred on February 6, our Deputy Minister, Mr. Ömer Faruk YELKENCİ, said, “After this disaster, all our educational buildings, especially the schools built within the scope of the project, fulfilled their duties. Our schools turned into temporary shelter centers, aid distribution areas, soup kitchens, earthquake coordination centers, and education and training resumed under the same roof after a short time. On this occasion, it became clear how appropriate the disaster-resistant schools agenda is. “We will continue our work uninterruptedly with the understanding of ‘zero risk’ in terms of educational structures, with the resources provided by both public resources and international organizations.”

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Türkiye, Jurgis VİLCİNSKAS, emphasized that qualified learning environments make very positive contributions to the well-being of children.

Referring to the schooling of refugee children, Jurgis VILCİNSKAS said in his speech: “With 210 schools, 5,306 classrooms and a capacity of 159,180 students, our school infrastructure projects achieved proud results despite the COVID-19 pandemic and earthquake last year. These schools serve Syrian students Under Temporary Protection and host communities, providing quality education when needed.

My story begins at Yunus Emre Secondary School in Hatay – Kırıkhan. I visited the school in April and met with the principal, teachers and students. Students and teachers were very pleased with their new school. During and after the earthquake, the modern school became a beacon of hope and a safe haven. Teachers explained that the school became a shelter after the earthquake. Students do not want to leave even when the school bell rings; They play football, table tennis, basketball or exercise in the gym. This school helped them get through the trauma; It became not just a place of learning but a source of hope.

There are more than 3.1 million Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey. Half of the refugees are under the age of 18. Additionally, more than 25% of Türkiye’s population is of school age. It is very important for this young population to receive quality education and grow up as individuals who will contribute to society. EU projects continue to provide quality educational spaces to both refugees and host communities and increase school enrollment.

As the EU, we will continue to support school infrastructures. “640 million Euros are allocated for the construction of 340 schools. We will continue to work with the Ministry of National Education, the World Bank and the KfW Development Bank. Thank you for your patience and dedication, these achievements would not have been possible without you! “I would like to thank local institutions, design and inspection consultants, construction companies and all teachers.” he said.

Following the speeches of Florian SEKINGER, Head of Southeastern Europe and Turkey Municipal Infrastructure Department from KfW Development Bank, and Rene Antonio Leon SOLANO, World Bank Human Development Program Leader, our students and our teacher, who are the beneficiaries of Ostim Şehit Şükrü Öngün Secondary School, shared their opinions about our project and our schools.

Then, Ostim Şehit Şükrü Öngün School music group students sang the songs they created with their peers within the scope of the Erasmus + project.

In the second stage of the closing ceremony, panels “The Role of Improved Learning Environments for Syrians Under Temporary Protection (SuTP) and All Students” and “Disaster-Resilient Schools in Türkiye” were held.

Within the scope of our ongoing Education for All in Times of Crisis II and III projects, a delegation consisting of experts from KfW Development Bank, the European Union Delegation to Turkey and the Project Implementation Unit examined the completed and ongoing schools in Bursa.

Within the scope of the inspection visits held on 7-8 November 2023, in addition to the 3 schools whose construction was completed in the Education for All in Times of Crisis II Project and the 2 schools under construction, the works on 3 kindergartens whose construction started in the Education for All in Times of Crisis III Project were inspected on-site. During the inspection visit, which was also attended by consultants and construction contractors, technical details in the ongoing construction, difficulties encountered during the construction process, construction planning and structural features of the completed schools were discussed. Officials of the European Union Delegation to Türkiye and KfW Development Bank were informed about the current situation.

The 10th of the Steering Committee Meetings, held biannually in the scope of our projects and bringing together the implementation stakeholders, was held in Ankara on October 16, 2023.

The meetings were held in 2 hybrid sessions as the Infrastructure and Energy Efficiency Measures Projects; the first session covered the Education Infrastructure for Resilience and Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III projects, and the second session covered the Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Measures Project.

Özcan DUMAN, Director General of the Construction and Real Estate General Directorate of the Ministry of National Education, Christian BALLARO, Green Development and Inclusive Growth Manager of Delegation of European Union to Türkiye, İlhan GÜLTEKİN, Program Manager of Delegation of European Union to Türkiye, Arne GOOS, KfW Head of Southeast Europe and Türkiye Municipal and Social Infrastructure, Kirk MILDNER, KfW Ankara Office Director, Nils MADENBACH, Senior Project Manager, Jülide OĞUZ, Salih Buğra ERDURMUŞ, World Bank Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist and Team Leader, Husein ABDUL-HAMİD and Yondela Tembakazi SILIMELA, Senior Environment and Education Specialists, and Construction and Real Estate General Directorate Project Implementation Unit participated in the meetings.

Özcan DUMAN, Director General of the Construction and Real Estate General Directorate, who made the opening remarks of the meetings, said, “In our projects, a comprehensive investment perspective is put forth in the frame of the needs on one hand, while on the other hand, our construction activities continue uninterruptedly to bring our children together with their new schools on time. Despite the earthquake disaster and the pandemic process that our country experienced, our specialists in the implementation unit did not stop working for even a single day. The site audit works took 2,385 man-days in 2022, and this figure reached almost 2,000 man-days in the first three quarters of 2023. The foremost reason behind such devotion of the Project Implementation Unit is the notion of not leaving any child behind. Until now, we completed and delivered 173 schools”.

“I congratulate all parties for the achievements so far.”

Christian BALLARO, Green Development and Inclusive Growth Manager of Delegation of European Union to Türkiye, who took the floor during the session, said, “We are part of a program with eminent goals. The schools we built in the scope of our projects have been very beneficial for the people of the region during the earthquake and disaster processes, and they hold a very special meaning for enhancing the educational opportunities of all our children. We consider the point the project reached and our cooperation as successful.”

After the infrastructure projects meeting, the Meeting of the Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Measures Project Steering Committee began with the opening remarks of Özcan Duman, Director General of the Construction and Real Estate General Directorate.

“As of October 2022, we generated 14.8 MWh of electrical energy with a gross financial value of 39 million TL.”

Özcan DUMAN said, “I am happy to share with you that we have completed the first and third components of the project, namely Over Roof Solar Plants (Stage 1) and Energy Efficiency Transformations. At 50 schools where we installed Over Roof Solar Plants, including the 3 Fast Track Schools we commissioned, we generated 14.8 of MWh electrical energy with a gross financial value of 39 million TL as of October 2023. By offsetting the energy generated in 77 buildings, the electrical energy consumed by 331 schools in total is met, 94 of these schools are in Adıyaman province, 12 are in Diyarbakır province, 92 are in Gaziantep province, 6 are in Kahramanmaraş province, 12 are in Kilis province, 38 are in Konya province, 12 are in Mersin province, 16 are in Osmaniye province and 10 are in Şanlıurfa province.”

Nils MADENBACH, Senior Project Manager of KfW took the floor during the meeting and said, “I want to congratulate the Ministry of National Education and the Project Implementation Unit sincerely for the activities they carried out. A lot of progress has been made since the beginning of the project. I thank all the stakeholders who had a part in achieving this.”

During the rest of the meeting, Musa RAHMANLAR, Head of the Construction Works Department of the General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate of the Ministry of National Education, made presentations concerning the infrastructure and energy projects, and informed the participants in detail about the current status of the projects.

After exchanging views, the meeting ended with good wishes.


In order to draw attention to the contribution of qualified educational environments with modern architecture and activities that complement the curriculum to the success of our children and to raise awareness about educational investments, our General Directorate, the European Union Delegation to Turkey,  KfW Development Bank officials and European and World champion young athletes met with children at Kahramanmaraş Onikişubat Şehit Tebernuş Özler Secondary School.

To our Youth Gathering Event, General Manager of Construction and Real Estate Mr. Umut GÜR, Head of Economic and Social Development Unit of the European Union Delegation to Turkey Angel Gutierrez HIDALGO, KfW Southeast Europe and Turkey Director Klaus MÜLLER, Head of Purchasing Department of our General Directorate Hacı Mehmet KULOĞLU, Kahramanmaraş Provincial Director of National Education Yusuf KAHRAMAN, European and World Champion in Shooting Safiye SARITÜRK TEMİZDEMİR, Paralympic Swimming Second in Europe and third place in Tokyo Olympics Sevilay ÖZTÜRK, Paralympic Swimming World Champion Beytullah EROĞLU and General Directorate Departmental Manager and technical staff attended.

Our General Manager, Mr. Umut GÜR; started his speech by stating that they see schools as educational centers that contribute to our children at every stage with their architectural and structural features. Emphasizing that the main motivation of the project team is that no child should fall behind in education within the borders of our country, GÜR added that besides the investments made by our government with its own resources in the field of education, the schools built with the financial support of the European Union also contribute to the education infrastructure. Umut GÜR, General Manager of Construction and Real Estate, said, “The main factor that motivates us is that there will be many champions such as Safiye, Sevilay, and Beytullah in our schools. Today, we are holding this beautiful event with the technical team of our General Directorate in charge of this school to tell our children everything they wonder about the school. Access to education is the fundamental right of all children. All of our schools, which were built with the financial support of the European Union, have the status of public schools and are at the service of all our children without discrimination with their address-based registration system.”

Safiye SARITÜRK TEMİZDEMİR, our European and World Champion in Shooting, who took the floor at the youth meeting, stated that sports give meaning to our lives from a young age and that success can only be achieved with hard work. Sevilay ÖZTÜRK, who is the second in Paralympic Swimming Europe and the third in Tokyo Olympics, emphasized that the biggest factor that motivates her in achieving success is to hold on to life and set an example for young people. Paralympic Swimming World Champion Beytullah EROĞLU stated in his speech that nothing should be accepted as an excuse to achieve success and that time is too precious to be wasted.

Angel Gutierrez HIDALGO, Head of the Economic and Social Development Unit of the European Union Delegation to Turkey, who took the floor in the interview, said that he was happy to be in an event with a very high energy, that as the European Union, they attach great importance to education and that they support education by building schools throughout Turkey with the Ministry of National Education.

Table tennis and chess tournaments, rubik’s cube solving and 3-point shooting competitions, music concerts and exhibitions were also held within the scope of the youth meeting, using the materials provided to the schools within the scope of the project. Participating delegation and young athletes participated in competitions and activities together with the children.

Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Measures for Host Communities In Turkey with SUTP Project Rooftop Solar Power Plant Putting into Use Ceremony was held in Gaziantep on 22 September

 

Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Measures for Host Communities In Turkey with SUTP Project Rooftop Solar Power Plant Putting into Use Ceremony held on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, in the garden of Gaziantep Mennan Usta Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. TGaziantep Governor Davut GÜL, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma ŞAHİN, General Manager of Construction and Real Estate Umut GÜR, Head of Construction Works Fatih Mehmet ORUÇ, Head of Facility for Refugees in Turkey of EU Delegation to Turkey Libor CHLAD, Head of Financial Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, Ambassador Undersecretary Andrê E. LYS, Gaziantep Deputies Mehmet ERDOĞAN and Ali Muhittin TAŞDOĞAN, Director, Southeastern Europe and Turkey, KfW, Klaus MÜLLER, Gaziantep Provincial Director of National Education Yasin TEPE, Representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Representatives of Gaziantep Provincial Directorate of National Education, EPDK, TEDAŞ and TEİAŞ were attended to the ceremony.

“We will meet the electricity needs of 555 equivalent schools in total with the 20 megawatt installed power we have achieved with our land and roof solar power plants investment.”

Umut GÜR, General Manager of Construction and Real Estate of the Ministry of National Education, who made the opening speeches, started his speech by emphasizing the importance of meeting the energy needed for our schools with sustainable resources. Mentioning that school roofs are very efficient in terms of solar energy, GÜR said that with the creation of a total of 6 Megawatts of installed power on 77 roofs in 51 schools, the electricity needs of 163 equivalent schools will be met.

Umut GÜR continued his words as follows: “With land solar power plants, which is another component of our project, we are establishing two large energy production facilities with a total power of 14 Megawatts in Gaziantep and Adıyaman provinces. When our land solar power plants are commissioned, we will have established Turkey’s 16th largest solar power plant. These power plants also hold the title of the largest land solar power plant built with direct public investment.

 

We attach great importance to prioritizing the values of this geography in our work. We named our field solar power plant in Nizip, Ibn al-Haytham, a pioneering physicist and pioneer of modern optics. Similarly, we named our power plants in Adıyaman as Biruni, who is famous for his work in astronomy and mathematics, and Harezmi, who is the pioneer of algebra and algorithm and the first person to explain the number zero.

We will meet the electricity needs of 555 equivalent schools in total with the 20 megawatt installed power we have achieved with our land and roof solar power plants investment. 420 thousand students will directly benefit from our investments.”

Referring to the energy efficiency component of the project, Construction and Real Estate General Manager Umut GÜR stated that comprehensive energy efficiency transformation and renovation works were carried out in 41 schools selected according to many parameters among 134 schools. And he stated that the energy efficiency performance of these schools will be improved by 25% and their energy efficiency scores will be increased from F to C level.

Andre LYS, who started his speech by stating that education is a priority for the EU, said; “Education should be provided according to everyone’s capacity and situation. We are building more than 400 schools in Turkey. Environmental protection is one of the most important investments to be made in our future. Today, education merges with the environment. I would like to thank everyone for the contributions of the schools to the environment.”

Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma ŞAHİN stated that this project is a great mental transformation. Emphasizing that humanity should respect the environment, she said that the situation we are in today, epidemics, global warming is due to our inability to use the world well. Saying, “If we do not take the necessary measures today, we will not have a world tomorrow,” Major ŞAHİN emphasized the necessity of implementing environmentally sensitive systems urgently.

Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Davut GÜL; “Gaziantep received a lot of immigration from inside and outside. We will remove the burden of this from the city’s agenda by holding everyone, especially our friends in the EU, by one end. Energy is increasing gradually, especially with the use of schools outside of working hours. Meeting this deficit from renewable energy is very valuable in terms of economy and environment. I am thanking the entire protocol for their participation. I wish this power plant brings good luck.” said.

After the protocol speeches and the videographic display of the project, Fatih Mehmet ORUÇ, Head of Construction Works and Projects Director, explained Field Solar Power plants investments to the protocol members through models and presentations. The ceremony ended after the visits to the workshops in the school.

Proje Hakkında:

Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Measures for Host Communities In Turkey with SUTP Project is implemented by the Ministry of National Education, General Directorate of Construction Real Estate with the Financial Support of the European Union through KfW.

With the project, it is aimed to provide the needed resource in a sustainable manner with renewable energy and energy efficiency works as a result of the increasing demand for education due to migration after the Syrian crisis, and to use the resource to be created with savings for new education investments. The project is carried out in 11 provinces, 92 schools and 2 fileds with a total budget of 40 million Euros.

With the Renewable Energy investments, a total of 6 MegaWatt Rooftop Solar Power Plants and a total of 14 MegaWatt Field Solar Power Plants are installed on 2 fields and on the roofs of 51 schools. Thus, a total installed power of 20 Megawatts will be reached. Thanks to these investments, the electricity needs of 555 equivalent schools and 420,000 students will be met, and a total of 24,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be prevented.

With the energy efficiency works, the energy efficiency performance of 41 schools selected among 134 schools will be increased. Thanks to energy efficiency efforts, approximately 1 million kWh of electrical energy and approximately 6.5 million kWh of heating energy will be saved, and 4,600 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be prevented. In this way, an annual average of 25% will be saved in our schools and the energy identity certificate grades will be increased to at least C.

 

147 of the 410 schools to be built, within the scope of Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects have been completed. Our schools, which were completed, are opened with the event held in Gaziantep on September 21 and met with our children.

A school opening ceremony was held in Gaziantep within the scope of Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II, III and Strengthening Educational Infrastructure Projects carried out by the Ministry of National Education, General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate, with the financial support of the European Union through the German Development Bank and the World Bank. To the event; Head of the European Union Delegation to Turkey, Ambassador Nikolaus MEYER – LANDRUT, Ministry of National Education Construction and Real Estate General Manager Umut GÜR, Gaziantep Governor Davut GÜL, KfW Southeastern Europe and Turkey Director Klaus MÜLLER, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma ŞAHİN, MoNE Head of Construction Affairs Department of the General Directorate of Real Estate and Project Coordinator Fatih Mehmet ORUÇ, experts from the project implementation unit and many local guests attended.

 

We Build Educational Buildings Where All Our Children Can Access Their Educational Rights Without Discrimination

Umut GÜR, General Manager of Construction and Real Estate, Ministry of National Education, who gave the opening speech, said; “In our country, there are approximately 1.2 million Syrian children under Temporary Protection at school age. When we look at the education levels of our children according to age groups, it is seen that 127 thousand children in pre-school, 442 thousand in primary school, 348 thousand in secondary school and 278 thousand children in high school are in the education age. With the extraordinary efforts of our state and of course our Ministry, the schooling rate of Syrian children has been increased to 64 percent. However, the need for educational infrastructure in the field is far beyond the support provided by the European Union and international actors. Therefore, it is our hope that the investments in the education sector, which currently has a large share in the financial means of the European Union, will increasingly continue in the upcoming period.”

GÜR stated that they have completed 147 schools so far and delivered them to the provincial directorates. GÜR also shared the information that with the projects, an additional capacity of 200 thousand students was produced at different levels and types, from kindergarten to high school, from vocational high schools to science-arts and public education centers.

As Umut GÜR ended his speech, he listed the items that make up the philosophy of the projects.

  • Our schools are public schools built with European Union funding.
  • We are building an education home where all our children can access the right to education without discrimination. Our schools are not built specifically for refugees or certain groups. All our children residing in that region can enroll in our schools that accept students with the address-based system, just like other public schools.
  • The locations of the schools are determined according to many criteria such as capacity need, complementarity with different levels and suitable land.

Speaking at the event, Gaziantep Governor Davut GÜL reminded that they decided to open a school every week from the beginning of the term, and noted that a total of 41 schools were completed in 2021, while the construction of 54 schools was ongoing and a significant part of them would be completed by the end of the year. Stating that Gaziantep is a young city and that it receives both internal and external migration, Gül added that they will continue to work towards completing the school needs with the support of the Ministry of National Education.

Reminding that they met with the city authorities at the beginning of the year about their educational needs, LANDRUT said, “The refugee hosting in Gaziantep province is very intense. After all, we are here today for the opening of this school. I will say this once again and I always underline it. Turkey is showing a great effort as municipalities, the Turkish people and the government, about hosts, communities and refugees. As of now, 700 thousand Syrian students are integrated into the Turkish education system. We can only help within the framework of the European Union support programs, but this success is yours. We can only support you in your success.”

After the speeches, the event came to an end after the ribbons of the schools were cut, the opening bell rang and the participants toured the school.

About Our Projects:

With the financial support of the European Union and the Implementation of Ministry of National Education, General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate through the KfW and the World Bank, 410 education facilities are being built in 19 provinces with the Projects of Education Infrastructure for Resilience and Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III. The aim of the projects is to meet the increasing educational capacity need due to migration after the Syrian crisis by building new schools. An additional capacity of 200 thousand students in total is created with the projects in which 170 kindergartens, 60 prefabricated and 179 reinforced concrete schools and 1 public education center are built. All children benefit from the schools built without discrimination.

For detailed information: 0850 811 83 03

 

 

 

 

 

Our book titled “Building the Future”, which includes schools that have been completed and ready to serve students in 19 provinces where the projects are implemented within the scope of Education for All in Times of Crisis I,II & III and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects, which are carried out by the General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate through the German Development Bank and the World Bank with the Financial support of the European Union, is online.

With the book “Building the Future”, there are photos of schools, number of classrooms, student capacities, social areas and all kinds of facilities, as well as detailed information about the projects, distribution of funds and important activities.

Click to view our book Building the Future.

https://indd.adobe.com/view/4be90207-8a4d-4bac-abbf-0a376a78b7ea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tree Planting Event was held in Hatay within the scope of Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects, which are carried out by the General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate with the European Union Financial Support through German Development Bank (KfW) and The World Bank.

Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Nikolaus Meyer Landrut, General Director of Construction and Real Estate of Ministry of National Education Umut GÜR, Governor of Hatay Rahmi DOĞAN, District Governor of İskenderun İskender YÖNDEN, Mayor of İskenderun Fatih TOSYALI, Project Impelentation Unit, and teachers and the students of Oruç Reis Primary School where the event held, attended the event.

In his speech, Umut Gür, General Director of Construction and Real Estate of the Ministry of National Education, said, “As the Project Implementation Unit of the General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate of the Ministry of National Education , we are in a completely different excitement in your presence today. Within the scope of the financial support of the European Union, we have built and opened 126 schools since 2017 with Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects,. The Oruç Reis School, which we are in today, is one of them and it is the new educational home of our children who are with us today. Under this roof, our children, both Turkish and Syrian, with an independent mind, independent conscience, will grow up. They will flourish and grow up together with laboratories, sports fields, libraries and social facilities in these qualified educational environments. We hope that each of the educational investments that we carefully consider for all our children will be a gift to all our children, who are unique just like the saplings we will plant today.”

Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Nikolaus Meyer Landrut in speech, “Education is key to the future for all children, either Turkish or refugee, or European.  I am very happy and proud that the European Union, the Turkish state, local authorities and the Turkish people are carrying out this magnificent educational work. As the European Union, we support the construction of 410 schools across the country and nearly 40 schools in this province. Of course, this was also thanks to the outstanding efforts of our devoted teachers, and especially of our teachers in the PIKTES program. Therefore, the main reason why I am very pleased to be here is this effort of teachers and the education. We’re also here today for a tree planting ceremony. Environment and climate problem is the biggest problem of our time. We can deal with this problem with the measures we will take daily.” said.

In his speech, Hatay Governor Rahmi Doğan said, “The buildings that I enjoy opening most are school openings. I felt a very serious relief when I entered the school, and I hope our students will receive a good education. Honorable Ambassador visited me yesterday. We had a long consultation on the agenda in our country, province and Syria.  There is a Syrian crisis that started in 2011, one of the biggest crises in the world. The war was not only a civil war, but also a huge wave of immigration. Millions of people have been forced to leave their homes. Due to the borders with Turkey in the first place, they tried to go to Europe via Turkey and other countries. This was a very painful drama. Many families passed away in the cold waters of the Aegean sea like Aylan baby.

With so many Syrian guests coming to our country, it turned out that our opportunities are not sufficient and incomplete. Because while we were planning our cities, education and health, we planned them according to our population and our settled structure. When nearly half of the population in some districts, or even more than the entire population in Reyhanlı district, our educational institutions were not enough and our hospitals started to respond to the need. We use roads, parks, hospitals and schools together, but it must be understood that they have a capacity in them.

21-22 new schools have been planned for our city, some of them have been built, some are still under construction and some are in the planning phase. These schools will provide serious support to our education in our city. I express my gratitude to the European Union countries in the person of the Ambassador. Is it enough? Of course not, I think the European Union should take on this burden more. Ultimately, this issue is not only Turkey’s problem. Turkey is the country most affected by this problem and most tired. We have to face it together, we have to do it for humanity. We must act together, join forces and carry this burden together.

Again, I hope the event will be beneficial and I express my gratitude for your appreciation. I would like to thank all my friends who have contributed, and greet everyone with respect.”

The protocol made observations at the school after the speeches. After the observations, saplings were planted in the school garden, representing the 3,000 saplings that were planted in the area damaged by the fire last year, during the sapling planting event organized with the theme “Our Future is Greening”.

The event ended after photo shoots and consultations.

According to the Global Trends Report published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2019, there are 70.8 million refugees around the world. Turkey, with the influence of geography, hosted more than 4 million refugees and became one of the most refugee-hosting countries all over the world. June the 20th, Refugee Day is an important day reminding people that it is necessary to stay away from discriminatory, marginalizing, and targeted discourses and also states that refugees have a basic right and freedom to establish a decent life for human dignity and human rights.

June the 20th, Refugee Day was celebrated for the first time in 2001. It is a celebrated day to remind the universal rights and liberties of every human refugee living in the world, as well as the difficulties such as being targeted, marginalized and not reaching human rights.

In 2011, with the outbreak of civil war in Syria, there wasn’t any safe zone left for Syrians, in their own country, and a massive migration movement towards Turkey has begun. The Republic of Turkey has accepted the Syrian refugees with the open-door policy by fulfilling a basic requirement of international refugee law.

In Turkey today, there are over 4 million people living as under temporary protection, and as refugees and 3.7 million of them are Syrians. As well as accepting the displaced people to the country only, it has been tried to ensure that the primary rights such as housing, health, and education were fulfilled. Intense efforts were made to prevent the arise of lost generations, and touching the lives of people by making emergency interventions to the crisis by the projects of the Republic of Turkey’s, collaborations with the European Union and many projects carried out with other stakeholder institutions.

 

The number of refugees in Turkey, due to its proximity to the war zones in the Middle East, has increased rapidly in the recent past. Many action plans were prepared against this rapid increase. Some of these are ABC and BCA Projects carried out by the Ministry of National Education, Construction and Real Estate Department through KFW and WB with the financial support of the European Union. With these projects, 401 schools are planned to be built in 19 cities where Syrians live densely, for the 1.1 million school-aged children’s education access. The construction of 60 prefabricated (steel construction) schools, including inside the camp sites, was started immediately for the purpose of emergency response to the crisis.

 

With 401 schools to be built in our current projects, we are creating an additional capacity of 6404 classrooms and 192,460 students in 19 provinces. With this capacity increase, it is aimed to prevent many generations of refugee children to continue their education and prevent the lost generations that may occur and to protect the right of every child to have equal access to education. Because education is the fundamental right of every child regardless of any kind of discrimination.

According to UN reports; The number of refugees reaching the highest rates of the last 70 years in the world will continue to increase in the coming periods. On the June the 20th Refugee Day, we need to remember that in the near future we will perhaps give the greatest test of our time for a fair and egalitarian world where the fundamental rights and freedoms of all refugee people such as life, health, and education are not ignored.

Happy June the 20th World Refugee Day

5’th Steering Committee has been held in Ankara for Projects on Education Infrastructure for Resilience and Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III. The meeting was held in Ankara with the participation of Deputy Minister of National Education Mr. Reha DENEMEÇ, Head of Construction and Real Estate Department of MoNE Mr. Umut GÜR, Head of Construction Works Department of MoNE Mr. Fatih Mehmet ORUÇ, Head of Section Facility for Refugees in Turkey of EU Delegation to Turkey Mr. Libor CHLAD, KfW Head of Division Municipal Infrastructure and Transport Southeast Europe and Turkey Mr. Kirk MILDNER, The World Bank Program Leader Ms. Heba ELGAZZAR, Project Implementation Unit Experts and related Ministry representatives.

In the opening speech of the program, Deputy Minister Mr. Reha DENEMEÇ expressed his views on the current situation in the projects, schooling rates, construction progress, the Environment and Social Management Framework, new school packages planned to be built, preparations and new steps.

DENEMEÇ claimed; “We carried out important processes in the field of education with the efforts of the international community and our state. We increased the schooling rate of our Syrian children to 62%. Schooling rates are around 91%, especially in primary schools. This is a positive growing, but it is important to increase this schooling rate in secondary and high schools.”

“66 schools have been completed. We aim to open many new schools before the new education season.”

DENEMEÇ ended his speech with saying; “Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects are investment projects. A total of 66 schools, 42 prefabricated and 24 reinforced concrete, have been completed since the beginning of the project. Thus, an additional capacity of 46.000 students was created. Our 82 schools, which are under construction, are planned to be ready for the 2021 academic year. Therefore, the number of schools completed is targeted to be 146. With the performance of the contractors and the increase in the performance of the project team, we plan to open more schools to the service of our children.”

Head of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) Mr. Umut GUR, expressed the current status of the project, work accident frequency rate and the average of Turkey, changes in communication strategy, images from ongoing constructions and finished schools, and future implementation period goals to the participants in his presentation.

GUR stated that; “Everyone embraces the project and the smallest developments are discussed with the relevant stakeholders. I think that we are successful, at least in preventing delays on the public side. I can say that we did not have any serious problems after the period in 2018.” After the presentation ends GUR ended his words with; “The temporary acceptance process is a period in which the investments we have made in the project are covered in flesh. As we see the results we share with you through photos and videos today, we are also happy.”

Mr. Libor CHLAD began his words with; “The ultimate goal in our work is to deliver quality education to everyone and leave no one behind from these opportunities. We have business items that will be emphasized and seriously completed for both you and us. That’s why we have a great cooperation. We are trying to overcome the obstacles we face, with the World Bank, KfW and the Ministry of National Education.

CHLAD also touched on the subject of occupational safety and ended his words with; “In terms of standards, we need to ensure that the rules are respected, not only on paper but also in the field. I was very pleased with the steps taken in this direction.”

CHLAD finally said; “We are trying to meet the forecasted needs of the future at the right time, in the right way, with the interventions as a result of our cooperation.”

Under the Education for All in Times of Crisis I, II & III and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects, 401 educational structures are planned to be built in 19 provinces. It is aimed to create an additional education capacity of 191.800 students with these educational structures.

The Steering Committee Meeting ended after the project’s working period until the next meeting, planned activities, participant opinions, question and answer section and commemorative photos.

75-year-old Şerife HARMANKAYA, who donated her land in Yaylapınar district of Konya for one of the 220 schools built within the scope of our projects, stands out with her philanthropy in Konya.

Şerife HARMANKAYA donated her land in Konya for a school built within the 220 schools in 19 provinces under the scope of Education for All in Times of Crisis I&II and Education Infrastructure for Resilience Projects implemented by Ministry of National Education, Construction and Real Estate Department through German Development Bank (KfW) and The World Bank with European Union financial support. Şerife HARMANKAYA, known with her philanthropy, in Konya, said; I wish I had buy more land and give it to the state. I’m so glad. Children will be chirping in this school. If I had my mind in the past, I would have bought land from the coast, used to give it to the state to build a school. Let the Syrians go to school, they are our brothers, our children.

Konya Governor Cüneyit Orhan TOPRAK gave a gift and plaque to Şerife Harmankaya who attended the Education Infrastructure for Resilience Project Reinforced Concrete Schools Opening Ceremony. Harmankaya has taken a commemorative photo with the Ambassador of European Union Christian BERGER and The Governor, and she accepted the thanks.

 

 

Click here to watch the video 

The Governor of Konya Mr. Cüneyit Orhan TOPRAK, Head of EU Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Mr. Christian BERGER, MoNE Head Construction and Real Estate Department Mr. Umut GÜR, Head of Construction Works Department Mr. Fatih Mehmet ORUÇ and Ambassadors of 27 EU countries who were in Konya during the ceremony day and a large number of guests  are participated the ceremony in Konya.

“Turkey have never considered separately Syrian children from Turkish children.”

After the welcoming, MoNE Head of Construction and Real Department Mr. Umut GÜR started his speech with stating the conflict in Syria has caused huge humanitarian crisis. “As all of us have witnessed Turkey has faced a constant and extraordinary rate of migration flow from Syria. However, Turkey has made significant and spectacular progress in the meaning of accommodating for this large population.”

GÜR, cleary expressed the perspective of Turkey towards Syrian chrildren by saying “An important part of the Syrian population in Turkey constitutes younger population. Turkey have never considered separately Syrian children from Turkish children and Turkey has tried to ensure that all children living here benefit as much as possible from the existing but limited resources and will continue to do so.”

GÜR also touched on healthy cooperation with shareholders by saying; “Infrastructure projects are hard and can be complicated on-site from time to time. Despite the obstacles, we enjoy productive and collaborative working relationships with our shareholders.” He ended his words by saying; “Today, our school, which will be open 57 schools we have built in the Education Infrastructure for Resilience Project through the World Bank, stands out as the most important concrete output of our project. I would like to express my gratitude to all those who contributed from design to the tender process, from supervision to acceptance, and hope that this place of education will be beneficial to our children.”

“The Governor emphasize education infrastructure need in three words: School, School, School”

Head of EU Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Mr. Christian BERGER said; “Before this, we opened another school in a another city. In there we asked to the Mr. Governor what do you want from the European Union, and Mr. Governor said “school, school, school”. As the EU we are transferring our support in the scope of educational activities especially to Syrian people and their children, who needed to migrate to Turkey.  Education is a very important subject. It starts with preschool education and continues to primary school, middle school, high school, and university education. This education is completed at the university. Education is everyone’s right and should be taken in the best possible way. I would like to thank the Ministry of National Education for being a partner in this matter for so many years. I wish the children going to school to receive high-quality education here.

The Governor of Konya Mr. TOPRAK stated; These days we continue our lives with developments that make us happy. Great disasters and people’s problems affect everyone. Everyone equipped with a sense of humanity suffers from the suffering of a human being. We are the first country affected by the humanity drama in Syria in our south. We could not remain indifferent to the drama of humanity there. We have started to host our Syrian children in our country and this hosting has been going on for 8 years. These people needed to have a job, benefit from health services, and be able to continue their children’s education without interruption. For this, our state rolled up its arms and set out with the intention of conducting these works without any help from anyone. I believe it is very important that we act together on these issues and on human sensitivity. We will open this school with the ambassadors of 27 countries.

 

75-year-old Şerife HARMANKAYA, who donated her land for school construction and is known for her philanthropy in Konya said; “If I had my mind, I would buy more land and give it to the state. I’m so happy, i felt on top of the world. Children will be chirping in this school. If I had my mind in the past, I would have bought more land and gave it to the state and made build more schools. Syrians should also go to school, they are also our siblings, are our children.

After the reciprocal gifts were presented and the ribbon cut, the first bell of the school was rang. The event has ended after the authorities visited the school and have theirs souvenir photo taken.