Turkey is planning to reopen schools beginning Feb. 15, the country’s education minister said late Sunday.
“We have made a policy decision on reopening schools as of Feb. 15,” Minister Ziya Selçuk said, about two months after the schools were shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic, which led to the closure of businesses and forced authorities to impose partial lockdowns throughout the week, has relatively declined in the past two weeks.
Authorities hope to further curb the infections with mass vaccination that started last week. After partially reopening schools in late September, Turkey resumed its distance learning education system as of Nov. 20 until Jan. 4, 2021. The reopening was further postponed after that date, and schools will go into a recess starting next week.
The decision on possible scenarios of school reopening will be decided and shared with the public 10 days before the scheduled reopening date, Selçuk told broadcaster CNN Türk in an interview on Sunday evening.
