Education in Turkey

It is a state-supervised system designed to produce a skillful professional class for the social and economic institutes of the country.

Primary and secondary education is financed by the state and free of charge in public schools, between the ages of 6 and 19.

[6] The share of national wealth invested in educational institutions is higher in Turkey than average among OECD countries.

[9] After the foundation of the Turkish Republic the organization of the Ministry of Education gradually developed and was reorganized with the Law no 2287 issued in 1933.

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.

[13] In 1938 mobile courses for women were organized in order to support the further education of the rural female population.

[16] New legislation introduced in March 2012 prolonged compulsory education to 12 years (İlköğretim ve Eğitim Kanunu ile Bazı Kanunlarda Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Kanun).

[17] In July 2017, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government presented a new curriculum for schools, inter alia removing evolution theory and adding the concept of jihad as part of Islamic law in books.

There are four core subjects at first, second and third grades which are Turkish, mathematics, Hayat Bilgisi (literally meaning "life knowledge"), and foreign language.

There are five core subjects at sixth and seventh grades: Turkish, mathematics, science, social studies, and foreign language.

In addition to that, students may be taught the following classes, depending on the track they choose and/or the high school they attend: mathematics, geometry, statistics, physics, biology, chemistry, geography, philosophy, psychology, sociology, economy, logic, arts and music, traffic and health, computer, physical education, first and second foreign language.

Those at the age of 18 may directly take the experienced apprenticeship exam, if a certificate is provided to prove that he/she is working in the related profession.

The main reasons are the affordable tuition fees compared to destinations of similar reputation such as Eastern Europe and easier accessibility for international students.

Foreign students take the YÖS Examination or provide equivalent credentials approved by the Council of Higher Eduation.

With the passage of law 2547, the rectors of all the public universities are appointed jointly by the faculty, Higher Education Council and the President of Turkey.

[28] The former president, Abdullah Gül, suggested that the system might be changed to eliminate the Higher Education Council and political influence.

[33] The government has announced a plan to draw around 500,000 foreign students at its universities by offering attractive scholarships.

Turkey's R&D strengths include agriculture, forestry, health, biotechnology, nuclear technologies, minerals, materials, IT, and defence.

[39][40] In 1927, all courses concerning religion were excluded from the curriculum of primary, secondary, and high schools on the basis that non-Muslims also live in Turkey.

Nearly half of the content of these courses concerns religion and Islam (whom majority are Muslims) with remaining topics ranging from secularism to humanism and from ethical values to etiquette.

The major world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism are included in the content of the course.

[42] As a result of the poor standards achieved by the public system many students take an intensive English language "prep year" when entering university.

In 2012, the Ministry of Education included Kurdish (based on both Kurmanji and Zazaki dialects)[43] to the academic programme of the basic schools as optional classes from the fifth year on.

[44] In 2015, the Ministry of Education announced that as of the 2016–17 academic year, Arabic courses (as a second language) will be offered to students in elementary school starting in second grade.

[49] In the late 1990s, the National Security Council, which at the time was dominated by a secular military, demanded the administration of the Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to carry out regulations aiming to curb rising Islamic fundamentalism.

[56] Reduction of topics about Atatürk, downgrading in positive sciences teaching and promotion of religious content has drawn reactions.

The purchase of private textbooks is not obligatory, nevertheless, families feel compelled to buy them so that their children receive a better education.

[58][59] Turkish schools, regardless of whether they are public or private, are required to teach history based on the textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education.

[65][66] Since the 1980s, textbooks discuss the "events of 1915", but deflect the blame from the Ottoman government to other actors, especially imperialist powers who allegedly manipulated the Armenians to achieve their nefarious goals of undermining the empire, and the Armenians themselves, for allegedly committing treason and presenting a threat to the empire.

Explain that the Ottoman State took certain measures following these developments, and in May 1915 implemented the ‘Tehcir Kanunu’ [Displacement Law] regarding the migration and settlement of Armenians in the battleground.