Turkey will partially resume face-to-face school lessons for the 12th grade on March 1, the National Education Ministry announced on Feb. 12, Trend reports citing Hurriyet Daily News.
The second semester of the 2020-2021 school year will start Monday with distance education, said the ministry in a statement, adding that as of March 1, in-class lessons would start for students in the 12th grade with reduced student numbers.
Sixteen to 24 hours of face-to-face lessons are be held per week, said the statement, with attendance to be voluntary, though parental permission will be needed not to attend the classes.
The same schedule will apply for special schools as well, with face-to-face lessons for five days a week, it added.
After partially reopening schools in late September, Turkey resumed its distance-learning education system as of Nov. 20 until Jan. 4, 2021, in accordance with pandemic measures.
Remote learning continued until Jan. 23, through national broadcaster TRT's Education Information Network (EBA) channels and live courses, while all teachers were allowed to teach live lessons through the EBA.