Alternative Models in Syrian Refugees’ Access to Education

Dates: 10 March 2017
Time: 18:30

In the framework of the exhibition “Mekân” which brings together NarPhotos Collective’s visual testimonies about Syrian refugees, we are organizing a panel focusing on the educational problems of the Syrian refugees.
The topic represents the most important subject for the future of refugees as today more than 800.000 of the 2.7 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey are in school age. However, only half of this population goes to school. Those who are enrolled after surmounting serious obstacles, especially economic difficulties, are facing the problem of school dropout. There are currently two types of schools for Syrian children in Turkey: Temporary Training Centers (TTC) and public schools. In this panel, we will first discuss the pros and cons of these two education models and then talk about possible solutions to problems such as access to education, dropout and quality of education.

Three speakers who will help us deepen our understanding on the education of Syrian refugees by looking at different aspects of the subject are, Yaser Dallal, Dr. Abdulrahman Alhaj and Dr. Çetin Çelik. After the presentations, we will have a question and answer session where we aim to engage in a fertile discussion with the contribution of participants from non-governmental organizations.

This panel is organized in collaboration with the Migration Researchers’ Platform (GAR).
The panel will be held in Turkish.

Speakers
Yasser Dallal (Chief Executive of HayatSür Association)
Access to education of immigrant children: Obstacles, problem areas, recommendations
Dr. Abdulrahman Alhaj (Former education adviser at Syrian Interim Government)
The temporary training centers for Syrian refugees, their advantages and disadvantages
Dr. Çetin Çelik (Sociologist, Koç University)
How to organize schools for facilitating integration of refugee and immigrant children?