The four-day suspension of schooling in Kahramanmaraş following the armed attack at a school that left 8 people dead, 7 of them children aged 11 to 12, ended on Monday with the resumption of classes in this southeastern province of Turkey. Following the tragic shooting at Ayser Çalık School, the students were transferred to another institution after authorities ordered the closure of the school indefinitely.
Early this morning, gathered in the courtyard of the new school and under the watchful gaze of their parents from outside the school grounds, the students prayed for their classmates and teachers who had died in a scene marked by emotion, before returning to class.
Classes had been suspended throughout the province following the shooting at Ayser Çalık School, which left eight students and one teacher dead, in addition to the attacker: a 14-year-old eighth-grade student from the same school who used up to five firearms stolen from his father, a retired police commissioner, in the attack. In the wake of the trauma and horror caused by this school shooting, the students from the school where the tragedy occurred began a new academic year today at new premises to which they have been temporarily transferred, amid an atmosphere of mourning.
According to reports by Turkish media outlets, with the resumption of classes, a reorganization was implemented for the students of the affected school, who have been reassigned to the Şehit Tebernuş School — an educational institution located about 800 meters from the Ayser Çalık School — taking into account criteria of safety and psychological adjustment. The adaptation plan involves students at the host school maintaining their morning schedule, while the transferred students will attend classes in the afternoon in the same building. Educational institutions in Kahramanmaraş will offer ongoing psychosocial support and guidance to the students to facilitate their proper recovery.
This morning, coinciding with the first day of classes following the attack, a ceremony was held in the courtyard of Şehit Tebernuş School in memory of the victims. The event, attended by the school’s administration and faculty, began with a moment of silence and the singing of the national anthem, followed by a religious ceremony during which verses from the Quran were recited and a joint prayer was offered for the eight students and the teacher who died in the shooting.
New restrictions in Turkey on Internet use by minors
As Turkey seeks answers regarding the shootings that shook Kahramanmaraş last week — and the town of Siverek in Şanlıurfa province the day before — and as the investigation into the incident progresses, authorities, the government, and institutions are already taking significant measures to prevent such an event from happening again.
One of the latest decisions in response to the recent attacks on schools has been adopted by the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Agency (BTK), which has implemented new measures aimed at regulating and limiting the use of mobile phones and the Internet by minors, introducing a new GSM mobile phone system called ‘children’s line‘ that strengthens control over the use of virtual private networks (VPNs, used to bypass filters) and limits the number of SIM cards per person.
Under this new system, parents in Türkiye will be able to assign SIM cards registered in their name for use by their children, which will allow for the clear identification of minor Internet users. These lines will feature enhanced parental controls, including restrictions on access to certain apps and content.
At the same time, a new plan launched in this case by Turkey’s Ministry of Family and Social Services in the wake of the school shooting in Kahramanmaraş aims to increase digital awareness among minors and families, while also promoting specific training in this field for educational staff so they can detect and respond to digital risks. The plan, which aims to strengthen early intervention mechanisms, will be accompanied by new legal regulations to promote safer online environments.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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