Education of Disadvantaged Children in OIC:
The Key to Escape from Poverty
115
primary and secondary education, ii) refine labour skills and competence, and iii) raise
awareness.314 The first phase of the project started in 2011, and in 2015 a new start was given
with a stronger focus on keeping girls in schools. The project is being implemented in 15 selected
provinces. Within the scope of this project, 64,500 individuals have been reached, 31,500 people
have been trained, 9,424 household visits have been completed, 10,588 household surveys have
been conducted, and 5,022 girls have been returned in schools.315
Location: Bussed education
The MoNE provides a bussed education service for children who cannot go to school either
because there are no schools in the vicinity or because there are limited means of transportation
in the area. Bussed education started as a pilot programme in a total of five schools in two
provinces in the 1989 – 1990 academic year, and it has reached all the provinces of Turkey by
2006-2007 academic year.316 It is provided for children at primary or secondary schools, or in
special education. Primary and secondary school children who are transported to school with this
service are also provided meals at school. Within the scope of this application, identification, and
planning of the students whowill receive this service are carried out by the provincial directorates
of the Ministry of National Education according to the Regulation on Access to Education through
Transportation.
Various research studies317 have concluded that bussed education has a positive impact on
extension of 8 years compulsory education, particularly for girls and children from poor families.
They also found an improvement in academic success and a decrease in costs. There are also some
drawbacks relating to bussed education. Children who start the day very early to reach school by
bus often feel tired at least during the first class of the day. Moreover, if children live in a rural
area with harsh winters, it may not even be possible to go to school from the villages.318 In the
2016 – 2017 academic year, 817,799 students were transported to school by bus. 1/3rd of these
students (32 percent) are in primary education and 68 percent are in secondary education.319 The
operationalisation and budget support for bussed education is shared between the MoNE and the
Social Aid and Solidarity Promotion Fund (SASF). The MoNE expects to receive 700,000 TL for
food expenses of bussed students and 295,000 TL for transportation costs of special education
children from the SASF.
Quality: Use of ICT in Education- FATIH Project
The FATIH project was launched with the aim of enhancing educational opportunities for all
children through the use of educational technologies. The FATIH project is based upon five main
principles: accessibility, productivity, and equality of opportunity, measurability, and quality.320
314 Ministry of National Education strategy Development Presidency (2016)
315 (Özellikle Kız Çocuklarının Okula Devam Oranlarının Arttırılması Projesi (KEP - II), 2017)
316 This information is obtained from MoNE through formal writing
317 (Küçüksüleymanoğlu, 2006); Şimşek and Büyükkıdık (2017); (Yurdabakan & Tektaş, 2013)
318 (Küçüksüleymanoğlu, 2006); Şimşek and Büyükkıdık (2017)
319 Ministry of National Education (2017)
320 Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology (FATIH) (2017)