Chapter 2: How the Covid-19 Pandemic Affected Education in Turkey

As in most countries worldwide, the Ministry of Education in Turkey shut down all schools, including higher education institutions and started planning for appropriate actions for the near future. As a quick response to continue formal schooling, the Ministry of Education hoped to reach most of the K–12 student population in Turkey through the combination of the Educational Informatics Network (EBA) online educational platform, which was developed several years earlier, and EBA TV, which consisted of several TV channels broadcasting lessons on specific subjects throughout the day. EBA TV served as back up since internet access, and infrastructure in Turkey might have proven a challenge for students in rural areas and socioeconomically disadvantaged households. Insufficient infrastructure in rural areas and lack of internet and computer access for economically disadvantaged families prevented this approach’s effectiveness, thus widening the digital divide. Technical problems were only the tip of an iceberg as most teachers, families, and children lacked digital literacy skills and experience to benefit from synchronous and asynchronous online courses.