Risky school buildings to be evacuated in Istanbul
ISTANBUL
Istanbul Governor’s Office has announced that 93 school buildings will be evacuated, while students will be transferred to other schools when the spring semester starts on Feb. 20.
“As of Feb. 20, students in 93 school and educational institution buildings that are deemed risky will be transferred to quake-safe schools in coordination with district governor’s offices and national education directorates. These schools will be included in the scope of transported education if needed. Thus, 51,995 students and 2,765 teachers will continue education in quake-safe buildings. We thank our dear students, teachers and parents for their patience and understanding during this process,” the officials said.
The governor’s office also reported that among the schools built before the 1999 Marmara quake, 769 were retrofitted and 367 were demolished and rebuilt after 2006. Another 87 schools were retrofitted or demolished and rebuilt by the Education Ministry and other institutions. A total of 1,223 schools were made quake-resistant.