Education in four provinces severely affected by last month's earthquakes that ravaged southeastern Türkiye and northern parts of Syria will gradually start from March 27, Education Minister Mahmut Özer announced on Tuesday.

Minister Özer, who attended a closed-door coordination meeting held at the Provincial Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD) Center in Hatay, told reporters that education in some districts of Kahramanmaraş, Malatya, Adıyaman and Hatay is set to resume as of next Monday.

Noting that the ministry classified cities affected by the earthquake into three categories, Özer said education already resumed in six cities classified in the first and second categories as of March 1 and March 13, respectively.

"After extensive consultations with our Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Interior Ministry, governors, district governors, lawmakers, district education directors and district education directorates, we decided to gradually resume education in four provinces listed in the third category. Education will start in a gradual manner as it did in six provinces, including Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Malatya and Hatay, in safe districts and school compounds," Özer said.

"If necessary, we will manage the processes with double session schools and mobile education,'' he added, noting that at the same time, efforts were underway for the continuation of children's academic sessions. The minister said that education in 1,793 tents, containers and other temporary shelters is ongoing in the earthquake-hit region.

More than 1.3 million students in Türkiye's quake-ravaged provinces of Gaziantep, Adana and Osmaniye returned to their classrooms on March 13, over a month after a pair of devastating earthquakes left at least 50,000 people dead.

Meanwhile, according to Ministry of Education (MEB) data, more than 240,000 students from the earthquake-hit zone were transferred and reintegrated into educational institutions in other provinces across Türkiye.