As the name suggests, they were founded in lieu of a vocational school to train government employed imams; after madrasas in Turkey were abolished by the Unification of Education Act (Turkish: Tevhid-i Tedrisat Kanunu).

A Faculty of Theology at the Darülfünun (Istanbul University), special schools for training imams and hatips (ministers and preachers) were opened by the new Ministry of National Education.

The coalition government of 1974, established by the CHP and the MSP (National Salvation Party), committed to reopen junior high schools and giving the right of entry to university through examination.

The proliferation of Imam Hatip high schools is often cited as the effect of the National Salvation Party's membership of a number of coalitions with Nationalist Front governments.

Under military governance, graduates of Imam Hatip high schools gained the right of entry to all university departments.

[1] Research suggests that between the years of 1993 and 2000, prospective students registered at Imam Hatip high schools primarily to receive religious tutoring alongside a more general education.

[2] In addition, research shows enrolment at Imam Hatip high schools was based solely on the student's decision.

[3] By the mid-1990s, Imam Hatip schools were attracting some 11 percent of children in the relevant age group and developing into a parallel system of education.

[5] An objection to the free choice of Imam Hatip graduates came from TÜSIAD (Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association).

According to their research conducted in 1988, approximately 32% of graduates of Imam Hatip schools picked faculties of law as their first choice in university entrance exams, proving more popular than religious based alternatives.

The report concluded that, due to fundamental differences in their upbringing, Imam Hatip graduates were rendered unsuitable for public office.

[6] A survey conducted by the Turkey İmam-Hatip Alumni Foundation (TİMAV), revealed that the majority of Turks hold positive views about Imam Hatip schools.