Say Yes, Autumn 2003: Haydi Kızlar Okula! (1)
If the future means a better world for girls as well as boys then I want the future now.
Photograph by Sema Hosta © UNICEF Turkey 2003
During the Summer, the Ministry of National Education (MONE), UNICEF and our partners in the girls’ education campaign were preparing for the drive to ensure that all girls of primary school age in the first ten target provinces where a quarter of a million girls are out of school would be enrolled when schools re-opened. Much research and planning was conducted ‘on the ground’ in order to assess specific local obstacles to raising the rates of enrolment and ensure the best possible results to the campaign objectives.
The first ten Haydi Kızlar Okula! provinces, marked in red, are Ağrı, Batman, Bitlis, Diyarbakır, Hakkari, Muş, Sırnak, Siirt, Şanlıurfa and Van.
The primary obstacle to girls’ education in these ten provinces is a shortage of schools and classroom space. Many children have long distances to travel -- 57,000 go to school by bus every day, just over 21,000 of whom are girls. Unsurprisingly, attendance figures drop during Winter as heavy snows close roads.
The provision of more schools equipped with water and sanitation within walking distance of villages would certainly lead to an increase in the number of children in school. During the fifteen years of terror leading up to 1999, many villages were deserted and schools ceased to function as a result. Although many schools are re-opening as villages are resettled, more buildings and teachers are necessary to improve enrolment rates. Moreover, the creation of village schools would engender a much needed culture of education at the grassroots level. Since teachers often don’t live in their assigned villages, they fail to become integrated with the community. The building of teachers’ houses in villages is favoured by many provincial and district officials since it would add to the village culture of education, provide a resident role model for the students and also improve follow-up on non-enrolment and non-attendance.
Economic hardship is also an important reason why girls are not enrolled. Poverty means that many parents view survival as the main priority. The harsh necessity of scraping a living forces many to coopt their children as additional labour resources in order to augment income: education tends to be regarded as an additional expense and, in some cases, a burden.
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SAY YES, AUTUMN 2003
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