Turkey: Online education starts amid COVID-19 outbreak

ANKARA 

Turkey began airing broadcast school lessons on Monday as part of distance learning measures to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.

National Education Minister Ziya Selcuk taught the first class to millions of students at 09.00 a.m. local time (0600GMT).

First addressing the parents, Selcuk said the world was going through a challenging process due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that schools were closed for a while with the launch of distance education.

Selcuk urged students to write about current events going on in the world as it dealt with the coronavirus pandemic.

"I would have liked to write about these days and leave a note in history," Selcuk said, adding: "Don't think about who would read it. I look forward to reading about these days from your pen in the form of plays, poems or short stories. Please write."

On March 13, Turkey announced that all educational facilities from primary schools to universities would be shut so the virus could be contained in the country, where there are 1,236 coronavirus cases and 30 deaths.

The remote lessons will be available online and on TV.

Students will be able to benefit from the Education Information Network (EBA), where lessons can be monitored online with the participation of teachers and students, according to Selcuk, with six TV channels specially reserved for educational use to air them until the end of the pandemic.

Depending on the grade and student, a variety of lessons such as Turkish, math, social and physical sciences, English, biology, and geography will be aired for 20 minutes each, one after the other.

Students will also be able to watch the lessons later in the evening, and they will also be available on the EBA website.