Education in Turkey
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The Turkish Education System mandates 8 years of primary education between the ages of 6 and 14, and in 2001 the enrollment of children in this age range was nearly a 100%, although female enrollment was substantially lower in some rural areas in Eastern Anatolia[citation needed]. Three or more years of secondary education are available in public, open, and vocational high schools. The high-school dropout rate in Turkey has been high compared with other Western countries[citation needed]. Below university level, about 95% of students attend public schools, but inadequacies of the public system increasingly motivate middle-class parents to seek private education.
In 2001 some 1,273 institutions of higher learning were in operation. Except for the Open Education Faculty (Turkish: Açıköğretim Fakültesi) at Anadolu University, entrance is regulated by an examination at the national level, ÖSS, which serves the purpose of assigning the high school graduates to the limited university space available, according to their performance on topics related to their prospective department at the university. Annually, about 1.5 million students graduate from Turkish high schools.[citation needed]
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. [1]
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[edit] Kindergarten
When children become six years old, they might attend kindergartens (public or private). Private ones have higher fees. Public ones do not have the necessary capacity to accommodate all children. However, there is a big increase in the number of public kindergartens as a result of restructuring Turkish Education System.[citation needed].
[edit] Elementary school
The elementary school provides 8 years of education for children between the ages of 7 and 15. In primary school, basic information, Turkish language, Mathematics, Sciences, Social Sciences, Art, Music, Physical Education, Handicraft, English language and sometimes another foreign language (generally French or German) are taught. There are two types of elementary schools, public (governmental) and private. Public elementary schools are free and provided by the state, though limited funding limits the opportunities they can provide to the students. When considered from an educational standpoint, there is no big difference in what is learned, but how topics are learned differs.
At the end of 8th grade, students take an exam, OKS, which lasts for 2 hours and is composed of about 100 questions. It tests the students' skills in Turkish, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences learned through the elementary school. According to their scores, they are placed to different kinds of high schools.
[edit] High school
- See also: List of high schools in Turkey
The high school lasts 4 years, with some high schools having an additional 1 year of English preparatory classes. The different kinds of high schools of the Turkish education system include: Public High Schools, the standard type; Anatolian High Schools which provide additional skills in a selected foreign language (English, German or French) by instructing a certain part of science courses in the foreign language; Science High Schools focusing on science education; Vocational High Schools, which focus on a certain type of profession, like Tourism Vocational High Schools, Industrial Vocational High Schools, and Electrical Vocational High Schools (e.g. the Tourism Vocational High Schools gives education about tourism and hotels in addition to the standard lesson outline); Imam-Hatip High Schools, which serve the purpose of educating imams for performing religious duties at mosques; and finally, Private High Schools, which are established by private enterprises. Almost all private high schools give education in English (some lessons are in English) and teach a second foreign language.
The lessons taught in high schools' 9th and 10th grades are:
- Turkish Language and Literature
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Geometry
- Turkish History
- Geography
- English language
- Second Foreign Language (German, French, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, Russian languages)
- National Security
- Health Studies
- Electives
- Profession Lessons (only in Vocational High Schools)
- Courses on Religion (only in Imam-Hatip Schools)
When students complete the 10th grade, they choose tracks leading to certain specializations. There four tracks are: Turkish-Math, Science, Social Sciences and Languages. In Vocational High Schools no tracks are offered, in Science High Schools only the Science tracks is offered.
There are presumed professions to be acquired by the students after completing a certain track.
- Turkish-Math track professions are: International Relations, Law, Education, Psychology, Economy, Business Management, and the like.
- Science track professons are: Engineering, Computer Science, Medicine, and other Science related professions.
- Social Sciences track professions are: History, Geography, and Education.
- Languages track professions are: All Language / Linguistics related professions.
At the end of high school, following the 12th grade, students take a High School Finishing Examination and they are required to pass this in order to take the ÖSS and continue their studies at a university.
[edit] Universities
- See also: List of universities in Turkey
- See also: ÖSS
After the national university entrance examination, ÖSS (Turkish: Öğrenci Seçme Sınavı) organized by ÖSYM, if they succeed, students continue with their studies at a university.
Universities provide either two or four years of education for undergraduate studies whereas for graduate studies, a further two years is necessary, as is typical throughout the world. There are around 820 higher education institutions including universities with a total student enrollment of over 1 million. Major universities are located in Istanbul and Ankara. Tertiary education is the responsibility of the Higher Education Council, and funding is provided by the state for public institutions that make up the bulk of the tertiary education system. There are 93 universities in Turkey, which are classified as either public or foundational (private). Public universities typically charge very low fees and foundationals are highly expensive with fees that can reach $15,000 per annum, and as such, a majority of students in tertiary education attend public institutions. Since 1998, universities have been given greater autonomy and were encouraged to raise funds through partnerships with industry.
The quality of education at the Turkish universities varies greatly, some providing education and facilities on par with internationally renowned schools (for the technical universities, often compared with the universities in the United States, as there are several Turkish universities regularly visited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the recognized U.S. accreditor of college and university programs, and their engineering programs deemed substantially equivalent to comparable programs at the U.S. universities), and these reflect as the popularity of a university in the ÖSS examination.
University studies last between 2 and 4 years for the undergraduate level, and 2 or more years for the graduate level. Some universities also ask for an additional year of English preparatory study to be completed before the start of studies, unless a proficiency examination is passed.
Turkish universities actively participate in the Socrates - Erasmus program of the European Commission, aiming to increase student and academician mobility within the European Union, the European Economic Area countries, and the candidate countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. An increasing number of Turkish university students complete a part of their studies abroad at other participating countries' universities, and Turkish universities receive students of the same status from abroad.
[edit] Research
The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey coordinates basic and applied research and development. There are 64 research institutes and organisations. R&D strengths include agriculture, forestry, health, biotechnology, nuclear technologies, minerals, materials, IT, and defence.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Ministry of National Education official website (Turkish and English)
- Population and Development Indicators, by the Turkish Statistical Institute, Prime Ministry of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish and English)
- ÖSYM official website, website of Student Selection and Assignment Center (Öğrenci Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi - ÖSYM), the organizer of ÖSS (Turkish)
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This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.
