“Second Chance” project: literacy courses for mothers launched in Northern Cyprus

One of the leading universities of Northern Cyprus — Near East University (Yakın Doğu Üniversitesi), ranked among the top 500 universities in the world, has launched a joint educational project with the Cyprus Turkish Children’s Protection Foundation (Kıbrıs Türk Çocuk Esirgeme Kurumu). The parties signed a cooperation protocol to organize literacy courses for mothers who previously did not have the opportunity to learn reading and writing.

The courses are implemented by the Faculty of Natural and Human Sciences and the Department of Turkish Language Teaching with the support of the university’s Community Contribution Commission. The program is designed for six months and has already begun: 10 mothers are taking part in the first group. The training is conducted voluntarily by lecturers and students of the Turkish Language Department. The classes aim not only to teach reading and writing but also to develop basic language skills necessary in everyday life — from understanding documents to verbal communication.

The project is coordinated by the head of the Turkish Language Department, Prof. Mustafa Yeniasır, the chairman of the Community Contribution Commission, Prof. Burak Gökbulut, and the deputy director of the Turkish Language Preparatory School, Tülay Kaya Tekman. The lessons are taught by students Tülaynur Koyun and Ezgi Demirel.

Prof. Gökbulut emphasized that literacy is a fundamental human right, and strengthening women’s educational opportunities directly affects the future of their children: the more confident a mother feels, the more chances her child has for successful learning. The director of the Children’s Foundation, Ali Birsen, thanked the university for the cooperation and noted that such initiatives truly change the lives of entire families, opening the way for women to independence and active participation in society.