The groundbreaking event was realized with a magnificent ceremony for the second of the 6 public primary schools that the Near East Enterprises will establish for the children of the country, with a capacity of 500 students each. The groundbreaking ceremony of Dr. Suat Günsel İskele State Primary School was realized with the participation of Prime Minister Ersan Saner, within the framework of April 23 National Sovereignty and Children’s Day celebrations.
In line with the decision of the Günsel Family Council, the foundation of Dr. Suat Günsel İskele State Primary School was laid with a magnificent ceremony in İskele.

The foundation was laid in a ceremony befitting the enthusiasm of the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children’s Day that the great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk presented to the children of the world 101 years ago. Dr. Suat Günsel İskele Public Primary School will have a capacity of 500 students. The fully-equipped school, of which all expenses will be invested by the Günsel Family, will be handed over to the TRNC Ministry of National Education and Culture Primary Education Department after its completion.

The foundation of the first public primary school to be built by the Near East Enterprises, Dr. Suat Günsel Gönyeli State Primary School which will be opened in September 2021, was laid in Gönyeli Yenikent on March 19. The second public primary school built in Iskele region is planned to be completed within six months and made ready for education. After Nicosia and Iskele, the investments of other public primary schools with a capacity of 500 students to be built in Kyrenia, Famagusta, Güzelyurt and Lefke will start with the determination of the locations of their lands.

Prime Minister Ersan Saner, Minister of National Education and Culture Olgun Amcaoğlu, Minister of Finance Dursun Oğuz, Minister of Public Works and Transport Resmiye Eroğlu Canaltay, Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources Nazım Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Health Ünal Üstel, Minister of Labor and Social Security Koral Çağman, MPs, undersecretaries, district governors, mayors, ministry directors and many guests attended to the ceremony.

The groundbreaking ceremony of Dr. Suat Günsel State Primary School, held on April 23 National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, started with Şehit İlker Karter Primary School students Doğa Aydın’s speech and Sezgin Orkun’s poetry reading. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Near East Enterprises Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel, Mayor of İskele Hasan Sadıkoğlu, Minister of National Education and Culture Olgun Amcaoğlu and Prime Minister Ersan Saner made speeches, respectively.

Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel: “The foundation we have laid will, in one sense, reinforce our national sovereignty in our beautiful country; On the other hand, it will strengthen our hope for a better future for our children.”
Starting his speech by saying that Dr. Suat Günsel İskele State Primary School’s foundation was laid on a meaningful day such as 23 April National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Near East Enterprises Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel continued his speech; “The foundation we have laid will, in one sense, reinforce our national sovereignty in our beautiful country; On the other hand, it will strengthen our hope for a better future we aim to establish for our children. The fact that such a foundation is laid on the National Sovereignty and Children’s Day increases our pride, hope and happiness one more time. Not so much, just 4 months ago, when we decided in the Günsel Family Council to build 6 state primary schools in 6 districts of our country, this was our biggest goal.” Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel said that they have made every investment and effort for the same purpose in order to strengthen the economy, culture, health and art of the country, especially education, without leaving the country for 43 years. Prof. Dr. Günsel continued his speech pointing out that the second phase of the establishment of the Near East Yeniboğaziçi Campus Library, Cyprus Museum of Modern Art, Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque and GÜNSEL production facilities will be made soon.

Referring to the investments they have made in the field of health, Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel stated, “We continue to develop projects that will bring the scientific knowledge of the Near East and Kyrenia Universities to the service of our people and humanity.” Remind that they have been a project and patent partner in the development phase of Protective Nasal Spray, which started to be used in Italy, Prof. Dr. Günsel said that they will soon start to produce the spray in our country, too. Informing that the necessary infrastructure and agreements have been completed to produce the Protective Nasal Spray, Prof. Dr. Günsel said, “With the completion of the necessary legal permit process, we will be ready to start production in our own country with our own brand.”

Stating that they have completed the necessary research and development processes to produce PCR diagnostic kits, which have an important place in combating pandemics and have been available from abroad until today, Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel said, “I would like to announce with great pride that we are at the point where we can produce our own PCR kits in our country.”

Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel said that Near East University ranked 30th in the world in the field of education quality in the “2021 World Universities Impact Ranking” announced by Times Higher Education this week. “We always regarded family unity, territorial integrity, and integrity between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Turkey as indispensable. The only and essential foundation of our existence is to be whole and thus to stand strong. This is our ultimate principle.” saying Prof. Dr. Suat Günsel, ended his speech “I wish our Public Schools to be beneficial to all our children and I congratulate the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children’s Day with my sincere feelings.”

Hasan Sadıkoğlu: “We are delighted to be a part of a project like Dr. Suat Günsel State Primary School.”
Expressing his great pleasure to be a part of a project such as Dr. Suat Günsel State Primary School, İskele Mayor Hasan Sadıkoğlu said, “While working on what we can do to meet the increasing school need in our district, Günsel Family decided to build a state primary school in 6 districts of our country and preferring to establish the second one in our district made us very happy.” Saying that they continue to work in consultation with the Ministry of National Education and Culture to meet the needs of the schools in their districts, Sadıkoğlu said, “We thank the Günsel Family on behalf of our children.”

Olgun Uncaoğlu: “Last night, I had a hard time sleeping with the excitement of a 23rd April child, as we will bring an investment like Dr. Suat Günsel State Primary School to the east of our country.”
Beginning his speech by celebrating the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children’s Day of all children, Minister of National Education and Culture Olgun Amcaoğlu emphasized that Dr. Suat Günsel State Primary School is the 10th school project implemented in the country in the last three years. Saying “The child is the light, the child is our future, the child is love, and the child is our lifeblood,” Olgun Amcaoğlu, continued his speech as follows; ” Building a new school in line with the initiative of the Günsel Family and the support of the İskele Municipality, Dr. Suat Günsel İskele State Primary School will meet a very important need of the region.”

Reminding that they laid the foundation of the 10th school in 3 years, Minister Amcaoğlu said that they also established science laboratories in 48 primary schools and renewed the infrastructure of 52 laboratories in 32 schools, adding that they will reconstruct the Cyprus Turkish State Theaters building, which burned 21 years ago, and bring it into cultural life. “As we will bring an investment like Dr. Suat Günsel State Primary School to the east of our country, I had a hard time sleeping last night with the excitement of a 23rd April child. Dr. Suat Günsel also gave the good news that the foundations of the third of the state primary schools will be laid in Kyrenia.”

Ersan Saner: “For these precious schools, I would like to thank the whole Günsel Family before Dr. Suat Günsel.”
Reminding that 101 years ago Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk presented April 23 to the children of the world with a visionary perspective, Prime Minister Ersan Saner said “On this meaningful day, in a region in the east of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, we are very happy to lay the foundations of Dr. Suat Günsel State Primary School. Dr. Suat Günsel in conversation we realized prior to the ceremony said that Turkey’s Grand National Assembly also was opened at 14.00 on a Friday, like today. This information has made even more the meaning of the foundation we have laid here today.”

Stating that Günsel Family will realize 6 school projects in 6 districts of our country and these schools will stand out as the new educational shrines where our children, who are the wealth of our future, will be raised, Prime Minister Saner said, “For these precious schools, in the presence of Dr. Suat Günsel, I would like to thank the whole Günsel Family.”

Sharing the information that İskele Turkish Maarif College is also at the stage of completion, Ersan Saner said, “As a government that attaches great importance to education, we will open this school in the near future.”