Somali school to teach Turkish as part of curriculum

By Zuhal Demirci

ANKARA

The Turkish language has been added to the curriculum of a school for orphans in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, according to the Yunus Emre Institute.

The idea to introduce Turkish language courses at the school came when Huseyin Caner Akkurt, the institute's head of the department of human resources, visited the school in August 2017.

On Friday, an official ceremony was held to announce the addition of Turkish language to the curriculum of Girls’ Preschool at Bondhere Orphanage.

The lessons will be taught by a Turkish-speaking Somali teacher.

Turkey's Ambassador to Somalia Olgan Bekar, who was also present at the event, thanked the principal of the orphanage, Mohamed Addow, for opening its doors to Turkey.

Bekar said Somalia-Turkey friendly ties were getting stronger and it was being supported through education.

Addow highlighted the importance of educating girls and added that not only students but also teachers were going to learn Turkish.