Istanbul - A chronic shortage of teachers is preventing about 2,000 schools from opening in Turkey's south-east, where Kurdish rebels have fought for self-rule for 13 years, Anatolian news agency said yesterday. The rebels have killed dozens of teachers in what they say is an attempt to stop the assimilation of Kurdish children.
About 4,500 teachers, or 40 per cent of those selected, have failed to fill their posts in the mainly Kurdish south-east this year, Anatolian quoted the governor of the south-eastern emergency rule region, as saying. "The most important recipe in ending terror is education. I am calling to teachers: come and make a contribution to ending terror in this region," the governor said.