New $150M deal for Syrian refugees in Turkey

By Selma Kasap

ANKARA

A $150-million grant to help provide education to Syrian refugees in Turkey was signed on Friday by Turkey, the EU and World Bank.

Turkish Education Ministry deputy undersecretary Murat Demirci, the World Bank’s County Director for Turkey Johannes Zutt and the Head of Cooperation for the EU Delegation in Turkey Simona Gatti attended the signing ceremony in Ankara.

Demirci said around 500,000 Syrian children were currently receiving an education in Turkey.

Around 200,000 Syrian children were integrated into the Turkish education system while another 300,000 were being trained in temporary centers in Turkish as well as their native language and culture, Demirci added.

Turkey currently hosts around 2.8 million Syrian refugees and has spent around $25 billion sheltering displaced people since the beginning of the Syrian war.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

“Within the scope of the project we are conducting with the [EU] delegation, we are cooperating to prepare a wider mass for school next year,” Demirci said.

Another €115-million euro ($123 million) grant was signed with the German Development Bank for the education of Syrian children living in Turkey, he added.

Earlier this week, the United Nations also appealed for $4.63 billion in new funding to address the growing needs of Syrian refugees and host communities in neighboring countries.