Education Minister Yusuf Tekin has announced a series of new regulations, including the reintroduction of grade retention in high schools, tightening the transition to distance education and measures on students' school attendance.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital Ankara on Aug. 16, Tekin stated that as a result of regular meetings with teachers since assuming his office in June, some critical changes have been made, especially at the high school level, based on feedback received from those meetings.

Addressing the rise in preference for distance learning among senior high school students due to the pandemic and the Feb. 6 earthquakes, Tekin noted that his ministry will tighten the requirements for transitioning from traditional to distance education.

Recent studies indicated that 9% of Turkish high school students now opt for distance learning to better prepare for university entrance exams.

Touching upon the flexibility introduced during the pandemic on the number of leaves a student can avail of in a term, Tekin stated, "There wouldn't be any leniency this year."

The practice of retaking grades, which had been suspended for a long time, will be reintroduced if a student falls short of meeting the absence criterion or fails to achieve the expected academic performance.

Addressing his ministry’s efforts in the earthquake-affected region, Tekin announced the smooth resumption of education in all 11 quake-hit provinces this year, highlighting that approximately 45,000 classrooms have been repaired so far.

Stating that they organized optional makeup programs in the summer months to compensate for the academic losses of students in the earthquake-hit region, Tekin noted they witnessed intense participation in these programs.

Reminding that these optional programs will be completed as of Sept. 1, Tekin announced that as of Sept. 11, a compulsory four-week compensatory education program will start for students in all the quake-hit provinces of the region.