About 18 million students and more than 1 million teachers in all grades started to attend schools across the country.

In March 2020, the Ministry of National Education announced that with the exception of schools catering to students with special needs, all schools in Turkey would close starting on 16 March 2020.

After the Ministry of National Education announced the closure of all schools, the government acknowledged the impact of the closure of schools on the welfare of children.

To alleviate the social isolation of students, the Ministry piloted a project on 27 March, where the Ministry of National Education started paying schools to offer small group activities for students on Mondays and Fridays, with deep cleaning sessions in between. (ILKHA)