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Remote learning widens educational gap between Turkey’s rich, poor

Millions of students in Turkey have been effectively left out of remote learning by a lack of resources.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - SEPTEMBER 21: Second grade teacher Meltem Capkin sits in an empty classroom while conducting an online class at the Florya Ugur College on September 21, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. For the first time since schools closed on March 16, due to the coronavirus outbreak, kindergarten and first grade students were allowed to return for in-person classes at schools across Turkey. The one day a week classes are voluntary and restarted amid strict coronavirus precautions. As coronavirus cases contin

More than 30% of Turkey’s K-12 students are at risk of falling behind in their education due to a lack of resources and infrastructural difficulties while public primary and secondary education in the country relies heavily on remote learning. Many parents who consider the spring semester a lost term are hopeless about fall semester as well. 

Turkey has expanded in-person education for primary and secondary school students on Monday, with second, third, fourth, eighth and 12th graders going back to school on a rotation basis. Still, millions of students are dependent on remote education as part of efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. In the seven months since the closure of the schools in March, the government seems to have failed to take necessary steps to secure education for those who don't have the means and resources to access online and remote learning, particularly in low-income neighborhoods and rural areas where even electricity can sometimes be a problem, let alone internet or television access. 

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