Minister of Family, Labour and Social Services Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk stated that the Transported Education Project, which is carried out in order to ensure the transportation of students of the official special education schools, special education classes and non-formal trainees from their homes to their schools, is initiated again with the opening of schools.

Stating that the protection of society segments, particularly children and persons with disabilities, that necessitate special policies, support for their care and rehabilitation, is a requisite of being a social state, Minister Selçuk emphasized that as the Ministry, they continue to work for children with disabilities to take part in every stage of social life.

We Provide Free Transportation of Our Children to Schools with Accessible Vehicles

Selçuk stated, “We attach importance to the access of our children with special needs to education and we continue to stand by the families. With the Free Transport of Students with Disabilities to Schools Program we have implemented, we support our families to ensure that our children who need special education can arrive at their schools free of charge with accessible vehicles.”

322 Million Turkish Lira Resource was Utilized for 117 Thousand Students with Disabilities

Noting that all groups with disabilities (visual, hearing, orthopaedic, autism, mental) can benefit from the program, Selçuk remarked, “As the Ministry, we aim to provide students with disabilities with easier transportation to their schools, to increase schooling rates, to promote education and training, to evoke a love for school in our students with disabilities and to eliminate the problems faced by students in transportation. During the pandemic, we took a break for a while when the schools shifted to distance education system. With the opening of schools, we continue to provide our children with free transportation from their homes to their schools again.” Selçuk stated that within the scope of Transported Education Project, 322 million Turkish Lira resource was utilized for 117 thousand students with disabilities in academic year 2019-2020.