Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) 2001–2005
Note: Pages in this section have been stored solely for archiving purposes. Information contained here refers to the 2001–2005 CPAP. Follow this link for current details about UNICEF programmes in Turkey.
Another day, another lesson -- an optimistic start to a new schoolday in rural Turkey.
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2003
Background
In 1997, the minimum term for compulsory education in Turkey was increased from five to eight years. The dramatic subsequent increase in school enrolment rates has put a major strain on an education system which is already strained by the country’s high rate of population growth, dispersed rural settlements, a steady influx of migrants to urban areas as well as socio-economic, regional and gender disparities. Large numbers of children are not adequately served: many drop out while the learning achievements of others are negatively affected.
The quality of education in primary schools needs to be improved in order to ensure that children between the ages of six and fourteen reach their full development potential.
By the end of 2005, UNICEF plans to have at least twenty CFS in each of Turkey’s eighty-one provinces serving at least 250,000 children and to render 36,000 primary schools as CFS by 2008.
CFS aims to:
- identify CFS characteristics within the traditional system;
- apply CFS characteristics in selected schools as a model for nationwide expansion;
- develop training packages and train teachers from selected traditional schools in order to test and improve the programme;
- improve communication and relations between students, teachers, parents and school administrations;
- increase the participation of students and parents in school issues;
- reduce school drop-out rates by 50%;
- further develop and expand child friendly education alternatives.
It is expected that:
- enrolment, attendance and learning achievement rates for children between the ages of six and fourteen years will be improved;
- relations between service providers (schools) and beneficiaries (students and their familes) will be improved;
- students and teachers and ultimately society itself will benefit from a general improvement of the atmosphere in schools.
An important alternative education project being carried out under this component is Haydi Kızlar Okula! the girls’ education campaign in Turkey.
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