Over 1,600 students, including 121 international students, succumbed to the recent earthquakes that struck Türkiye's southeastern region on Feb. 6, according to data shared by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) on Wednesday.
The Parliamentary Earthquake Investigation Commission, established to investigate the loss triggered by the recent disasters in all aspects, convened for the 12th time under the chairpersonship of YÖK member professor Ömer Açıkgöz.
The report, prepared with data obtained from 133 universities, highlighted 1,605 students died in the recent earthquakes whereas 1,609 are under treatment of whom 135 are international students.
Some 56,987 students were evacuated to different provinces, 21,341 lost their families and 102,916 lost their homes during the recent catastrophe.
Meanwhile, 1,148 personnel died, 45 sought treatment in hospitals, 265 lost their families and 7,581 lost their homes in the devastating quakes.
Some 1,122 buildings on higher education campuses remained safe, three buildings with deep cracks were demolished while authorities took notice of the other risky buildings.
“In September, we’ll handle the lodging problem of academic and administrative workers, the deployment of prefabricated complexes, technical assistance for distant education and evacuation of student dorms," Açıkgöz added.
Ministry of Youth and Sports and General Directorate of Higher Education Student Loans and Dormitories (KYK) Deputy General Manager Mustafa Özgül shared that they currently host 144,000 citizens in KYK dormitories.
“Considering the students who receive face-to-face education, we have developed a modular system ready for September, just like in Izmir's Urla for six dormitories destroyed in the recent earthquakes,” Özgül added.
