Education Programme for Syrian Refugees and Host Communities

Project Title 23

Education Programme for Syrian Refugees and Host Communities

BYS Grup

Türkiye

Turkish Ministry of National Education

German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

20.06.2016 - 31.07.2019

-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)

The programme operated in the provinces of Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Kilis, Hatay, Mardin, Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey, which are very severely affected by the Syrian crisis. Field of activity 1 involves construction measures designed to upgrade the existing educational institutions. The aim was to improve learning conditions as well as access to education for refugees and the host communities. Field of activity 2 was about training teachers to build up their pedagogic, intercultural skills and their abilities to promote social integration. In the 3rd field of activity, the programme worked with young volunteers to develop activities that promoted integrative exchanges between the various groups, such as sports and recreational activities, culture, youth camps and joint events, in a bid to help build social cohesion.

The programme targeted Syrian and Turkish children, youth, and young adults (total age range: 6-35 years) living in Turkey. A focus was placed on the needs of girls, young women, and socially disadvantaged Turkish groups in the context of school and activities that promote social cohesion. The target group also included Syrian and Turkish teaching staff.

Results:

During the 2017/2018 school year, the project renovated many schools and education centres, including five temporary education centres in the province of Sanliurfa, 22 public schools in the provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis and Sanliurfa, and a temporary education centre and three youth and community centres in the city of Gaziantep. 31,514 children and young people (50 per cent of whom are girls and young women) are currently benefiting from the improved school infrastructure. By the end of September 2018, 45,547 Syrian and Turkish children and young people (around 49 per cent of whom were girls and young women) had taken part in the additional intercultural exchanges and leisure activities provided.

By the end of October 2018, 570 teachers of mixed classes of Syrian and Turkish children had taken part in five-day seminars on intercultural skills. 98 per cent of the teachers trained to date have confirmed that their ability to teach mixed classes of Syrian and Turkish children has either improved or improved significantly.

• In the first year of the project, improved school transport has made it easier for Syrian children to attend school and summer schools, providing 4,638 children with access to education.

The project objective was achieved in three fields of activity:

• Promoting formal education. In collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE), the project strengthened the capacities of existing educational institutions so that many children and young people in the worst affected provinces of Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis and Sanliurfa will have access to formal education soon. Public schools being rehabilitated. The project also helped to transport Syrian children and young people to and from school and provided teaching materials for staff and pupils.
• Improving the quality of formal and non-formal education. The project trained teachers and strengthened their intercultural and integration skills so that they can help Syrian child refugees to integrate more successfully into the Turkish school system. Evaluating their employable skill levels which will be part of the economic development of the refugee children.
• Promoting activities that strengthen social cohesion. The project implemented measures in Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Hatay, Mardin, Ankara and Istanbul to help Syrian refugees and members of the host communities to live well together in a spirit of trust. Young Turkish and Syrian people were trained by local and international social workers to act as multipliers and were given the resources they need to organise social, cultural, and sporting activities for Syrian and Turkish children and young people. This training allowed young people and staff to take an active part in local community life and to become involved in shaping processes. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) acted as a partner for implementing sporting activities and the project collaborated closely with the Goethe-Institute in cultural activities. The most important local partner, besides the municipalities, was the local non-governmental organisation Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (SGDD-ASAM), which specialises in supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Turkey.

In order to achieve these fields of activities BYS Grup A.Ş. was responsible for providing a local/regional evaluator for the project.