Turkish children returned to school on Monday for the first time since tens of thousands of their teachers were sacked or suspended over suspected links to July’s attempted coup. Students arriving at school on Monday were handed pamphlets from the education ministry commemorating “the triumph of democracy on 15 July and in memory of the martyrs”. Ozev said children’s education could suffer if inexperienced teachers have to step in to fill the staffing shortages. Tens of thousands of staff in the education sector alone have been suspended or dismissed. Another 11,500 teachers suspected of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were suspended this month.

Source: The Guardian September 19, 2016 11:05 UTC