Meeting titled “Syrian and Turkish Teachers Bonding” took place on 15 January, Friday in Nazife Hatun Elementary School located in Siteler district in Ankara.

Meeting was attended by District Director of National Education Şefika Biçer, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Director Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Vice President Dr. Ebubekir Ceylan, YETEM Manager Assoc. Prof. İbrahim Gültekin, Corporate Communications Manager Ali Rıza Karabağ and Syrian and Turkish teachers.

Bonding meeting organized for Syrian teachers who need assistance on the subject as part of Teaching Turkish to Syrian Students Project, was held in Nazife Hatun Elementary School, one of the four temporary training centers (GEM) where Syrian students in Ankara are trained.

Şefika Biçer answered the questions of Syrian teachers in the meeting and remarked that it is of major importance for Syrians to learn Turkish for them to partake in the social life. Underlining that good and bad individuals exist in every society, Biçer expressed that Syrians should set an example to one another and guide each other towards the good in the society to improve the perception towards Syrian immigrants. District Director of National Education marked that she wishes for the war to end and for Syrians to rejoin with their families, relatives and countries, and relayed the message that they are entrusted to and safe in Turkey until then.

Yunus Emre Enstitüsü President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş took the floor after Biçer and introduced the Institute. He marked that one of the first centers opened in 2010 was in Damascus and Syrians took interest in Turkish language even then; now they have come together with Syrians on these lands and “they will do their utmost” in terms of Turkish instruction and thus making life easier here for Syrians.

“Our Societies Should Not Come Face to Face But Coexist”

Ateş spoke as follows: “We particularly made efforts to develop various solutions concerning education although Ministry of National Education (MEB) did not have the means and number of Turkish teachers and school capacities proved to be insufficient. No matter if the situation here is temporary or permanent; two nations communicating is of great importance for mutual understanding. Language is the principal means in this sense. At the end of consultations with MEB, we are carrying out projects to offer a better Turkish instruction to Syrians in Turkey. I especially thank teachers for their efforts in this direction.” Underlining that “language” is the main obstacle to overcome in order to lead an easier life in the society, to find employment and be a part of social integration, Ateş suggested to overcome the issues by way of education and said “We must not come face to face, but enable coexistence,”.

Field Study in Şili Elementary School

Meeting ended with Syrian and Turkish teachers' questions on how to carry out the project and a trip was organized to Şili Elementary School, another school in which Syrian students receive education in the afternoons. Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Vice President Dr. Ebubekir Ceylan and accompanying personnel who visited the school were informed on the education status and needs of the students by School Principal Ramazan Aydın.

Aydın expressed that the major difficulty they face is to find teachers with formation and also mentioned the hardships regarding employing permanent teachers. School principal marked that receiving support from Yunus Emre Enstitüsü in Turkish instruction will contribute to the education quality of students and thus will allow Syrians to take their places in the society as individuals who express themselves better and meet their needs, and added that they benefit from the Turkish training material provided by Yunus Emre Enstitüsü.

Field trip ended with observation of the classrooms in which students receive education. Field trips are planned to be organized mainly in Istanbul and Ankara, as well as in other cities.