Students to return to schools in 4 provinces in Türkiye’s quake-hit regions from March 1

ANKARA (AA) – Students will return to schools in four provinces of Türkiye’s quake-hit regions from March 1, the national education minister has said.

“As of March 1, we resume education in city centers and all districts of Adana, Kilis, Diyarbakir, and Sanliurfa,” Mahmut Ozer told reporters in the Malatya province, one of the regions heavily hit by the February 6 quakes.

In Gaziantep and Osmaniye provinces, the school break due to the quakes was extended to March 13, Ozer said, adding that in Adiyaman, Malatya, Kahramanmaras, and Hatay, education is expected to resume on March 27.

“We will not start education in any building that does not have a quake-resistant report (in quake-hit provinces),” he added.

On Monday, students returned to schools across Türkiye except in the 11 quake-hit provinces.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes on February 6 were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.