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An estimated 251 million children and young people around the world are still out of school, Türkiye’s first lady, Emine Erdogan, said Friday at the 5th Istanbul Education Summit.
The two-day forum convened policymakers, academics, teachers, researchers, opinion leaders, and civil society representatives from various countries to discuss today’s most pressing education challenges.
Organized by the Turkish Maarif Foundation, this year’s summit was held under the theme “Healing the World Through Education.”
Anadolu Agency was among the global communication partners.
Alongside Erdogan, opening remarks were delivered by Syrian first lady Latifa Al-Droubi, Turkish National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, and Maarif Foundation head Mahmut Ozdil.
In her address, Erdogan said the summit would highlight education’s ability to “nourish humanity’s soul, heal its wounds, and illuminate darkness,” adding that justice can only be balanced by “those who aspire to such a world.”
Citing the 2024 Global Education Monitoring Report, Erdogan noted that 33% of children in low-income countries lack access to education, compared to only 3% in high-income countries.
“Education is a fundamental right, and until that 33 percent is in school, the scales of justice will remain tilted,” she said.
Al-Droubi said thousands of schools in Syria had been destroyed during 13 years of conflict and that one in three Syrian children remains out of school.
She described students learning in buildings without doors or roofs and completing homework by candlelight, adding, “Talent cannot be destroyed, ideas cannot be limited, and the future a child carries in their schoolbag can never be taken away.”
She expressed confidence that Syria would rise again and “open a new chapter for science and life” with support from the international community.
Day one of the summit focused on the strategic direction of education, its role in shaping a better world, and an analysis of global challenges through an educational lens.
After the event, Erdogan wrote on social media that she met with Syria’s first lady, expressing hope that bilateral friendship contributing to “peace and stability” would be strengthened and that joint regional efforts would grow.
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