Majority of Unschooled Children Are Girls

"Girls comprise 72 percent of all unschooled children in Turkey", says National Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik. "A total of 175 thousand children had joined those receiving schooling as part of the Ministry's nation-wide campaign" he added.

In a written reply to a motion in Parliament submitted by Motherland Party (ANAP) Istanbul deputy Emin Sirin, the Minister said that in the education year of 2004-2005, the rate of children dropping out of schools had been recorded at 14 percent.

Celik said that girls comprised 72 percent of those who had never been able to enroll in the eight year primary education.

50 thousand boys return to classes

In his reply, Celik pointed out that under the nation-wide "Girls come to school" campaign launched by the Ministry, a total of 175 thousand children had joined those receiving schooling and that 50 thousand of the boys who had previously dropped out of education for various reasons had returned to schools.

The minister said that the principles of Turkey's National Education Basic Law overlapped with the mutual education targets of the European Union and listed reform efforts on Ankara's agenda as:

* Improving the quality of current curriculum, education, training of teachers and teachers themselves.

* Creating an infrastructure for Information and Communication technology.

* Improving physical capacity and facilities.

* Increasing access to education.(KÖ/AD/II/YE)