Schools in seven districts of Antalya will switch to remote lessons on 11 and 12 November, the two days of the COP31 leaders’ summit, under an official letter from the provincial education directorate, local outlets Antalya Hakkında and Antalya Ekspres and the DHA news agency reported on Wednesday.
The measure covers the five central districts of Aksu, Döşemealtı, Kepez, Konyaaltı and Muratpaşa, plus Serik and Manavgat. Face-to-face classes will be suspended on both days and lessons will continue online.
Update, 4 November, 17:55: The Antalya Governorship has issued circular No. 2026/11 on remote education and staff arrangements for the COP31 leaders’ summit, the İhlas News Agency (İHA), Antalya Körfez, Akdeniz Manşet and Güncel Antalya reported on Wednesday afternoon. According to all four, remote lessons on 11-12 November apply to all state and private pre-schools, primary, middle and secondary (high) schools in Aksu, Döşemealtı, Kepez, Konyaaltı, Manavgat, Muratpaşa and Serik, while schools in Antalya’s other districts continue as normal. School buses will not run in the seven districts on those two days. The provincial education directorate is to announce the platform and procedures for online lessons by 6 November at the latest, Antalya Körfez and Güncel Antalya reported. Under the circular, female public employees working in the seven districts who have a child at pre-school or primary school level will be counted as on administrative leave on 11-12 November, the outlets said. Heads of institutions, unit managers and staff in critical roles are excluded, including COP31 personnel and those working in security, traffic, health, emergency services, fire, transport, infrastructure, energy, water, cleaning and municipal services. Staff do not have to submit documents, though their institution may check, and institution heads must finalise lists of staff on leave and on duty by 10 November, according to Antalya Körfez and Güncel Antalya. Offices such as civil registry, land registry, tax, social security and health are to keep enough staff on duty, Akdeniz Manşet and Antalya Körfez reported, and private employers are advised, but not required, to consider flexible or remote working for parents of young children. (Sources: İHA / Son Dakika, Antalya Körfez, Akdeniz Manşet, Güncel Antalya.)
Official letter dated 3 November
According to Antalya Hakkında, the letter was signed by Antalya Provincial Director of National Education Mehmet Yasin Eriş and dated 3 November. Antalya Ekspres reported that it was prepared under a governorship approval of the same date and sent to the district governorships and district education directorates of the seven districts, which were asked to prepare for remote teaching.
DHA reported that the decision applies to state and private pre-schools, primary schools and middle schools under the provincial education directorate. Antalya Hakkında said the letter also covers secondary (high school) institutions, so the exact scope differs between reports.
Both DHA and Antalya Hakkında put the number of people affected at 319,356 students, 29,612 teachers and 1,148 other staff.
Traffic during the summit
The reason given is expected traffic congestion during the summit of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference, which the reports say will bring about 100,000 participants from 197 countries to Antalya. DHA and Antalya Hakkında noted that most pupils travel to school by private car, school bus or public transport, which could be disrupted.
Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin first announced the plan on Monday, 2 November, at a briefing on COP31 preparations, the DHA and İHA news agencies reported at the time. He also said administrative leave was being prepared for female public employees whose children attend primary or secondary school, with details to be clarified within a few days. No final announcement on the leave had been reported by Wednesday afternoon.
Türkiye is hosting COP31 in Antalya in November, and the summit has already featured in government meetings, as covered in our report on the ISEDAK ministerial meeting in Istanbul. For families new to the city, our guide to schools for expat children in Fethiye, Antalya and Bodrum explains how state and private schools are organised, and our Antalya living guide covers the city’s districts.
Sources
- Antalya’da 7 ilçede uzaktan eğitim kararı! (Antalya Hakkında)
- Antalya’da yüz yüze eğitime ara! (Antalya Ekspres)
- Antalya’da 319 bin öğrenciyi ilgilendiren COP31 kararı (DHA / Antalya Hürses)
- Antalya – COP31’de okullarda uzaktan eğitim, kadın kamu personeline idari izin (DHA / Son Dakika)
- Antalya’da COP31 hazırlıkları tamam: 7 ilçede uzaktan eğitim ve kadın personele idari izin geliyor (İHA / Yeni Şafak)
Photo: Esginmurat / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
