Education In Turkey

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, every citizen has the right to education which is free of charge for the compulsory primary education. Except in specially licensed and foreign institutions, Turkish must be taught as the mother tongue. Since 2012, twelve years of education is compulsary for boys and girls, which can be divided into 4+4+4 years of schooling.

The Ministry of National Education (MEB) runs educational administration of the country and is responsible for drawing up curricula, coordinating the work of official, private and voluntary organizations, designing and building schools, developing educational materials and so on. The Supreme Council of National Education discusses and decides on curricula and regulations prepared by the Ministry. In the provinces, educational affairs are organized by the Directorates of National Education appointed by the Minister, but working under the direction of the provincial governor.

Education In Turkey

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Formal education is the regular education of individuals in a certain age group and given in schools. This includes Pre-Primary education, Primary education, Secondary education and Higher education institutions.

Pre-Primary education is an optional education for children between 3-5 years of age who are under the age of compulsory primary education. The purpose of this education is to ensure physical, mental and sensory development of children and the acquisition of good habits, to prepare children for primary education, to create a common atmosphere of growth for those living in inconvenient circumstances and to ensure that Turkish is spoken correct and well. Pre-school education is given in kindergartens, daycare homes, nursery classes in primary schools, and in private nurseries, all under the supervision of the Ministry. They are usually concentrated in larger towns and cities.

With a new Law in 2012, four years of Elementary school + four years of Middle school is compulsory today, followed by four years of compulsory high school education (makes a total of 12 years compulsary education). Primary education is compulsory for all boys and girls at the age of 5,5, and is given free of charge in public schools. These schools provide eight (4+4) years of education. There are also private (and paid) schools under State control. In most of the primary schools, foreign language lessons start from 4th class. Most elementary school students dress similarly in a type of uniform to avoid any social class differences between rich and poor students. If the children fails to pass the class, he/she has to repeat the same class next year. At the end of 8 years, successful students go for the Secondary education for 4 more years.

The purpose of the primary education is to ensure that every child acquires the basic knowledge, skills, behaviors, and habits to become a good citizen, is raised in line with the national moral concepts and is prepared for life and for the next education level parallel to his/her interests and skills.

Secondary education is compulsory for four years and covers general, vocational and technical high schools (Lycees, Lise in Turkish) that provide four years of education (used to be 3 years until 2005).

The purpose of secondary education is to give students a minimum common culture, to identify individual and social problems, to search for solutions, to raise awareness in order to contribute to the socio-economic and cultural development of the country and to prepare the students for higher education, for profession, for life and for business in line with their interests and skills.

In addition to normal high schools, there are also evening high schools usually operating in the same school building. These are designed to allow those who take up employment after primary (or middle school) to continue their formal education.

Most of the high schools are owned by the State and provide free educational opportunities. In order to provide equal opportunities for the children with limited finances, there are State high schools with boarding facilities. These schools are free of charge and the students are placed according to the results of an examination. There are also many private high schools, which are paid by the parents, of course.

Turkish universities are Republican institutions, following Atatrk's principles. Universities, faculties, institutes, higher education schools, conservatories, vocational higher education schools, police and military academies and colleges, and application-research centers are considered as Higher Education institutions.

Universities, faculties and institutes of four-year higher education schools are founded by Law, while the two-year vocational schools, departments and divisions are established by the Council of Higher Education (YK). Universities are under the supervision of this Council and their programmes must be regularly accredited. The Council of Higher Education is a fully autonomous national board of trustees without any political or government affiliation. Universities have their rectors, deans, senate, and administrative boards, as well as student councils. In the universities, the instruction is generally in Turkish. Some universities use English, French and German as the language of instruction with one preparatory year if necessary.

After the highschool, the graduates enter a two-stage examination system known as YGS and LYS (formerly known as SS - Student Selection Examination) in order to be admitted to Higher Education institutions. This nation-wide centralized examinations are administrated by the Student Selection and Placement Center (SYM) every year, which determines candidates for the enrollment of each university and faculty after evaluating the grades of related subjects, their high school average results and their preferences according to the student capacity of each faculty. Those with good grades are qualified for the four-year undergraduate programmes and at the end they can get a Bachelor's Degree (BA), those who have grades at the limit can be admitted to the two-year higher education programmes and at the end they can get an Associate's Degree (AA). Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine courses last for five years and Medicine for six years.

The purpose of higher education is to raise the students in line with their interests and skills, in conformance to the science policy of the country and in consideration of qualified manpower needs of society at several levels, to do researches in scientific areas, to arrange for all kinds of publications that show the research and examination results and facilitate advancement of science and technology, to finalize the researches and examinations demanded by the government and to make comments, to make written or oral public announcements explaining the scientific data that shall increase the general level of Turkish society and enlighten the public, and to give non-formal education.

According to the Law, higher education institutions are responsible for the training of their own academic staff. Meanwhile, Primary and Secondary school teachers are trained in universities for 4 years and they get a BA degree at the end.

At present, enrolment in the private universities accounts for only 5% of the total. Clearly, state universities are by far carrying the major portion of the load of higher education in Turkey. In 2011 a total of 759,638 students were enrolled in AA, BA, Master's and Doctorate programs of 165 universities; 103 State and 62 Vakif-Private.

Non-formal education in Turkey is offered by a network of training centers who are supervised by the Ministry of National Education (MEB). Non-formal education services aim to teach reading-writing, help to continue education of students for finish their incomplete education, teach balanced nutrition and a healthy life style, teach people from various professions the knowledge and skills they need to improve themselves, and so on.

Foreign students who would like to enroll in the post-graduate programs of the Turkish institutions of higher education can apply directly to universities and must have completed their secondary education in a high school in which the education is equivalent to that of a Turkish lycee; they need to have it confirmed from a Turkish Embassy in their country and apply for a student visa. The applications of foreign students will be considered by the universities within their limit of the allocated places for foreigners. The students must also take the Foreign Student Entrance Examination (YS) which consists of two tests; a "basic learning skills test" where they must score at least 40, and a "Turkish language proficiency test" to see their Turkish language level, if any. Language courses are organized for those who do not speak Turkish, and in some Turkish universities courses are taught in English, French or German.

Compulsory education lasts 12 years. Primary and secondary education is financed by the state and free of charge in public schools, between the ages of 6 and 19. Turkey has over 200 universities as of 2022.[3] SYS, after which high school graduates are assigned to university according to their performance.[4]

In 2002, the total expenditure on education in Turkey amounted to $13.4 billion, including the state budget allocated through the National Ministry of Education and private and international funds.[6] The share of national wealth invested in educational institutions is higher in Turkey than average among OECD countries.[7] Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey is the main national body of R&D in Turkey.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI)[8] finds that when taking into consideration Turkey's income level, the nation is achieving 61.7% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education and 86.1% for secondary education.[9]

The Law of Integration of Education, no 430 was issued on 3 March 1924. With this law, the three separate channels were combined, the first one was closed, the second was developed and the third one was taken under the inspection and monitoring of the Ministry of Education. One of its aims was to apply secularism in the area of education.[10] By the law for the Education Organization no 789 issued on 22 March 1926 the Ministry of National Education was given responsibility for defining the degrees and equalities of the public and private schools already opened or to be opened by a ministry other than the Ministry of National Education. This Law brought new arrangements such as "no school can be opened in Turkey without the permission and agreement of the Ministry of National Education" or "curricula shall be prepared by the Ministry of National Education". The vocational-technical education institutions formerly directed by local governments were put under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.[10] 006ab0faaa