USC TURKSA

Preschool Education

Efforts are underway to make preschool education institutions widespread throughout Turkey. In Turkey, preschool education, which is optional, includes the education of children in the 3-5 years of age group, who are not at the age for obligatory primary education. Preschool education is given in kindergartens, preparatory classrooms, application classrooms, day nurseries, nursery schools, daycare homes, and child care homes by various ministries and institutions, and by the Ministry of National Education most of all. The children can benefit from these institutions for a full or a half day. The goal of preschool education is to help children develop physically, mentally and individually, and develop their ability to use language and prepare them for primary school. Where, and according to what priorities, the preschool educational institutions will be opened are determined with a regulation prepared by the Ministry of National Education. Efforts are underway for spreading preschool education, for informing public opinion and for the development and standardization of educational materials and equipment.

Primary Education

The duration of primary education in Turkey is 8 years and includes the education and training of children in the 6-14 years of age group. The primary education institutions consist of eight-year schools, uninterrupted education is carried out in these schools and a diploma of primary education is given to graduates. The fact that primary education is compulsory for all male and female citizens and it is free of charge in the State schools is guaranteed in the Constitution, Basic Law for National Education and the Law for Primary Education and Training. The objective of primary education is to provide children with the required basic knowledge, ability, behavior and habits for them to become good citizens and to prepare them for life and further education according to their interests and abilities. Furthermore, in the second semester of the final year of primary education the students are informed with guidance services on the subjects of the schools, programs and choice of occupation.
In order to improve the application on primary education and to increase quality, "Project 2000 on Catching The Age in Education" has been put into practice. Within the extent of this project, 26,745 classrooms have been put into service in the last year; 290,468 students have been provided with the opportunity for boarding study in boarding schools and in the pensioned schools for primary education; foreign language lessons and elective second foreign language lessons have started to be given beginning from the 4th year of primary education; educational material have been devised, again with a student-oriented understanding, and courses have been opened in order to make teachers literate on computers. Furthermore, besides the State schools, there are also many private primary education schools which provide students educational services in return for a tuition.

Secondary Education

Secondary education includes all the general, vocational and technical institutions of education, based on primary education, that give at least three- years education, and consists of high schools that apply various programs. Every student who completes primary education and who has a right to enter secondary education can benefit from the opportunities of secondary education. The objective of secondary education is to provide the students with a common general culture at a minimum level and to prepare them to be ready for taking responsibility for the democratic society, to make them respectful of human rights and to prepare them for higher education or business life in the direction of their interests, abilities and capabilities with a consciousness for contributing to the socio-economic and cultural development of the country.
Students are educated by being oriented towards various programs or schools, in the direction and in proportion to their interests, abilities and capabilities throughout their education. Some of the secondary schools and the private secondary schools, have foreign language preparatory classes, in conformity with the targets of the educational programs, and education in a foreign language is provided in science group and mathematics. Secondary education is classified as general secondary education and vocational-technical secondary education. Within the scope of the general secondary education there are five kinds of schools, namely the Anatolian High Schools, the Science High Schools, the Anatolian Fine Arts and Teachers High Schools, the evening high schools and private high schools. And the vocational-technical institutions of secondary education are gathered in seven groups as the Technical High Schools for Girls and Boys, the Commerce and Tourism Schools, Religious Education Schools, Special Education Schools, Private Education Schools and Vocational Schools of Medicine. Along with these, in places with less and scattered population, and in places approved by the Ministry of Education, high schools with a multi-program that apply vocational-technical education programs may be opened. Besides preparing students for higher education, students are educated for the fields of occupation and vocation in these schools, with the objective of meeting the need for qualified individuals for various professions and to prevent over-application of students at the universities. Public schools give special importance on foreign language and computer-aided education.

Special Education.

The special education services in Turkey are carried out in special education schools established according to disability groups. Today special education services are provided for children and youth in five different disability groups, including blindness, deafness, orthopedic disabilities, mental retardation and long-term illnesses. The objective of special education is to meet the educational needs of individuals who need special training, to integrate them into society and provide them with a vocation. The students who need special training are also provided with the opportunity of receiving education at the regular schools together with the students of their own age. An attempt is being made to spread this application which is called "combining". There are 229 special training schools and 104 centers of guidance and research in Turkey for students who need to receive special training due to their physical, mental, emotional and social developmental disabilities or super abilities. In the 1999-2000 school year, a total of 25,217 students benefited from special education schools and institutions. Preschool education is compulsory for children who are diagnosed as having a need for special training. An "Individual Training Plan" is prepared for each child and the children are trained according to the level of performance they can attain. The participation of families are provided at every stage of the training of the individuals who need special education and special training support is given to students in combined education. Furthermore, job and vocational programs for adults who need special training are organized and it is attempted to continue the activities to make these programs widespread.

Private Education

A special importance is paid to the sports activities in all educational institutions

These educational institutions are composed of every stage and type of schools opened in accordance with Law No. 625 and private classrooms and courses. These institutions continue their activities under the supervision and surveillance of the Ministry of National Education. When the dimensions of educational activities are taken into consideration, it appears that it will be beneficial for some of the educational services to be carried out by the private sector. As a matter of fact, in 1997 the necessary legal amendments were made to make private education institutions widespread, to ensure the investment of entrepreneurs in the field of education, and great facilities were provided to the private sector on this subject.

Extensive opportunities are provided for students in fee-paying private schools and especially foreign language education and education by computer are emphasized. A total of 246,514 students received education at 1,788 private schools at the level of preschool, primary and secondary education in the 1999-2000 school year and 22,864 teachers taught at these schools. Furthermore, educational activities were carried out in this school year at 2,895 private courses and 1,730 private classrooms. The share of private schools in general education today is 1.5 percent. It is planned to be increased to 6 percent in the short-term and to 15 percent in the long-term.

Non-formal Education

Non-formal Education. Non-formal education, one of the two main components of the national education system, includes training, education, guidance and application activities organized in addition to, or outside of, formal education for individuals who have never entered the formal education system, or individuals who are at a certain level of the formal education, or who have left at these levels. The objective of non-formal education is to teach reading and writing to adults who did not have the opportunity to learn reading and writing, to give them basic information, to develop their knowledge and abilities acquired during the last educational level that they attended and to create new opportunities to enable them to earn their living.

Non-formal education is composed of two basic components which are general and vocational technical non-formal educational programs. The Practical Arts Schools for Girls, Advanced Technical Schools for Girls, Industrial Practical Arts Schools, Technical Education Centers for Adults, Public Education Centers and Apprenticeship Training Centers are some of the non-formal education institutions. Non-formal education may be classified as public education, apprenticeship training and distance education.

Public Education

A great majority of the educational activities organized outside of formal education institutions are carried out by the public education centers. Literacy courses, vocational courses and social and cultural courses are offered at these centers for individuals at every age and educational level. Activities for the expansion and development of the public education centers in Turkey are continuing. In 1999, 48,413 vocational, socio-cultural and literacy courses were offered in 920 public education centers and 961,044 participants were educated.

Apprenticeship Training

Apprenticeship Training. Apprenticeship training includes the training of children and youth in the secondary school age group who have completed primary education but could not receive a higher level of education, or those who have remain-ed outside of formal education for various reasons. Those young people who are at least primary school graduates and between 14 and 19 years of age can receive apprenticeship training. As a result of arrangements made by the Law of Apprenticeship and Vocational Training, vocational training system has assumed three basic field of application as formal vocational training, apprenticeship training and vocational courses.

Those who finish formal vocational training may enter master's examination after a year of work experience. Apprenticeship training, in its turn, has a duration of 3 to 4 years. Those who complete this training may enter the journeyman examination. Candidates who get the right to receive a journeyman certificate may enter the master's examination after three years of work experience provided that they continue mastership training, otherwise a full five years of work experience is required. Those who do not receive a master-ship certificate cannot open an independent workplace and cannot work as a master. Vocational courses are held with the aim of providing employment opportunities for individuals who left the system of formal education and who did not have the necessary qualification. The participants may benefit from the rights given by the related law to apprentice students.
Those who work at a workplace included in the vocations within the scope of the law and who have signed an apprenticeship contract, can benefit completely from their rights as students, and their insurance premiums during their training are paid by the Ministry of National Education.
In 1999, 228,844 students received apprenticeship training at 330 centers. In the year 2000, all the working youth is planned to be provided with apprenticeship training.

Distance Education

Every Turkish citizen is provided with the service of distance education so as to realize equality of opportunity in education and to support education given in the institutions of secondary education. Within the scope of distance education services, open primary education school and open education high school are available.

Open primary education school, started by the application of eight-year uninterrupted compulsary primary education, provides, by the method of distance education, those individuals who have already graduated primary school but could not continue secondary school for any reason, the opportunity of completing eight-year primary education. There are 137,847 students in open primary education school in the 1999-2000 school year.

Open education high school provides service for those students who were not able to continue in formal education institutions for various reasons, or who have passed the age for formal education or who want to move to open education high school while in formal education. There are 368,108 students in open education high schools in the 1999-2000 school year.

Organization of the Education Abroad

Educational and training services are provided for Turkish citizens living abroad through 39 representations, including 21 Educational Consultancies and 18 Educational Attachés.
There are Turkish Educational Consultancies in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, the Hague, Brussels, Bern, Vienna, Stockholm, Riyadh, Moscow, Tbilisi, Nicosia, Cairo, Copenhagen, Almaty, Ashkhabad, Baku, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Tashkent, and Turkish Education Attachés in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Strasbourg, Essen, Frankfurt, Hannover, Karlsruhe, Nuremberg, Munster, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Mainz, Stuttgart, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Lion and Sydney.
There are 867,095 Turkish students receiving education abroad and 974 teachers providing education who are sent from Turkey. Morever, there are 41 instructors at Turcology chairs of universities abroad. Within the framework of coperation started with the Central Asian Republics and the Turkish Communities in the field of education-training; 12 schools and 8 Training Centers were opened in the Central Asian Republics by the Ministry of National Education. Education and training services are given in these places to 2,485 students by 345 teachers. Within the quotas allocated for the Central Asian Republics, there are currently 7,425 students from these countries in Turkey.

International Cooperation

Turkey has educational, scientific and cultural agreements with 71 countries and activities related to these are continuing. Presently, six projects are being carried out by the Educational Committee of the European Council member countries. Participation in projects, carried out under the main headings "Democracy, Human Rights and Minorities; Educational and Cultural Cooperation" included in the program of the "European Council Cultural Cooperation Board", has been provided since 1993. Along with this, the UNESCO Sister Schools Project, the Southeastern Mediterranean Project aimed at developing a consciousness of the environment, and Globe Program are among other projects which are being carried out. Furthermore, The Ministry of National Education actively participates in the activities of the Educational Committees of the OECD and of the Center for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI).
The development of cooperation with European Union (EU) in the field of education has gained momentum with Turkey's achieving the status of full candidacy to the EU in 1999. In Turkey, which is also accepted for the participation in Leonardo da Vinci including the projects in the field of vocational education- and Socrates -dealing with general education- Programs of EU, various preparation studies are carried out for active participation in the second phase activities of these programs to take place in the period 2000-2006. Within the structure of the Ministry of National Education, the EU Consultation, Administration, Research and Development Committes are formed and there are various studies to harmonize the national legislation of education with the EU law. The projects of "Modernization of the Vocational and Technical Education Institutions", "Reinforcement of the Vocational Education and Training System in Turkey" and "Support of Basic Education" are, for the time being, carried out within the scope of Europe Mediterranean Countries Cooperation (MEDA) programs of the EU.


	TURKIYE Education
		Preschool Education Efforts are underway to make preschool education institutions widespread throughout Turkey. In Turkey, preschool education, which is optional, includes the education of children in the 3-5 years of age group, who are not at the age for obligatory primary education. Preschool education is given in kindergartens, preparatory classrooms, application classrooms, day nurseries, nursery schools, daycare homes, and child care homes by various ministries and institutions, and by the Ministry of National Education most of all. The children can benefit from these institutions for a full or a half day. The goal of preschool education is to help children develop physically, mentally and individually, and develop their ability to use language and prepare them for primary school. Where, and according to what priorities, the preschool educational institutions will be opened are determined with a regulation prepared by the Ministry of National Education. Efforts are underway for spreading preschool education, for informing public opinion and for the development and standardization of educational materials and equipment. Primary Education The duration of primary education in Turkey is 8 years and includes the education and training of children in the 6-14 years of age group. The primary education institutions consist of eight-year schools, uninterrupted education is carried out in these schools and a diploma of primary education is given to graduates. The fact that primary education is compulsory for all male and female citizens and it is free of charge in the State schools is guaranteed in the Constitution, Basic Law for National Education and the Law for Primary Education and Training. The objective of primary education is to provide children with the required basic knowledge, ability, behavior and habits for them to become good citizens and to prepare them for life and further education according to their interests and abilities. Furthermore, in the second semester of the final year of primary education the students are informed with guidance services on the subjects of the schools, programs and choice of occupation. In order to improve the application on primary education and to increase quality, "Project 2000 on Catching The Age in Education" has been put into practice. Within the extent of this project, 26,745 classrooms have been put into service in the last year; 290,468 students have been provided with the opportunity for boarding study in boarding schools and in the pensioned schools for primary education; foreign language lessons and elective second foreign language lessons have started to be given beginning from the 4th year of primary education; educational material have been devised, again with a student-oriented understanding, and courses have been opened in order to make teachers literate on computers. Furthermore, besides the State schools, there are also many private primary education schools which provide students educational services in return for a tuition. Secondary Education Secondary education includes all the general, vocational and technical institutions of education, based on primary education, that give at least three- years education, and consists of high schools that apply various programs. Every student who completes primary education and who has a right to enter secondary education can benefit from the opportunities of secondary education. The objective of secondary education is to provide the students with a common general culture at a minimum level and to prepare them to be ready for taking responsibility for the democratic society, to make them respectful of human rights and to prepare them for higher education or business life in the direction of their interests, abilities and capabilities with a consciousness for contributing to the socio-economic and cultural development of the country. Students are educated by being oriented towards various programs or schools, in the direction and in proportion to their interests, abilities and capabilities throughout their education. Some of the secondary schools and the private secondary schools, have foreign language preparatory classes, in conformity with the targets of the educational programs, and education in a foreign language is provided in science group and mathematics. Secondary education is classified as general secondary education and vocational-technical secondary education. Within the scope of the general secondary education there are five kinds of schools, namely the Anatolian High Schools, the Science High Schools, the Anatolian Fine Arts and Teachers High Schools, the evening high schools and private high schools. And the vocational-technical institutions of secondary education are gathered in seven groups as the Technical High Schools for Girls and Boys, the Commerce and Tourism Schools, Religious Education Schools, Special Education Schools, Private Education Schools and Vocational Schools of Medicine. Along with these, in places with less and scattered population, and in places approved by the Ministry of Education, high schools with a multi-program that apply vocational-technical education programs may be opened. Besides preparing students for higher education, students are educated for the fields of occupation and vocation in these schools, with the objective of meeting the need for qualified individuals for various professions and to prevent over-application of students at the universities. Public schools give special importance on foreign language and computer-aided education. Special Education. The special education services in Turkey are carried out in special education schools established according to disability groups. Today special education services are provided for children and youth in five different disability groups, including blindness, deafness, orthopedic disabilities, mental retardation and long-term illnesses. The objective of special education is to meet the educational needs of individuals who need special training, to integrate them into society and provide them with a vocation. The students who need special training are also provided with the opportunity of receiving education at the regular schools together with the students of their own age. An attempt is being made to spread this application which is called "combining". There are 229 special training schools and 104 centers of guidance and research in Turkey for students who need to receive special training due to their physical, mental, emotional and social developmental disabilities or super abilities. In the 1999-2000 school year, a total of 25,217 students benefited from special education schools and institutions. Preschool education is compulsory for children who are diagnosed as having a need for special training. An "Individual Training Plan" is prepared for each child and the children are trained according to the level of performance they can attain. The participation of families are provided at every stage of the training of the individuals who need special education and special training support is given to students in combined education. Furthermore, job and vocational programs for adults who need special training are organized and it is attempted to continue the activities to make these programs widespread. Private Education A special importance is paid to the sports activities in all educational institutions These educational institutions are composed of every stage and type of schools opened in accordance with Law No. 625 and private classrooms and courses. These institutions continue their activities under the supervision and surveillance of the Ministry of National Education. When the dimensions of educational activities are taken into consideration, it appears that it will be beneficial for some of the educational services to be carried out by the private sector. As a matter of fact, in 1997 the necessary legal amendments were made to make private education institutions widespread, to ensure the investment of entrepreneurs in the field of education, and great facilities were provided to the private sector on this subject. Extensive opportunities are provided for students in fee-paying private schools and especially foreign language education and education by computer are emphasized. A total of 246,514 students received education at 1,788 private schools at the level of preschool, primary and secondary education in the 1999-2000 school year and 22,864 teachers taught at these schools. Furthermore, educational activities were carried out in this school year at 2,895 private courses and 1,730 private classrooms. The share of private schools in general education today is 1.5 percent. It is planned to be increased to 6 percent in the short-term and to 15 percent in the long-term. Non-formal Education Non-formal Education. Non-formal education, one of the two main components of the national education system, includes training, education, guidance and application activities organized in addition to, or outside of, formal education for individuals who have never entered the formal education system, or individuals who are at a certain level of the formal education, or who have left at these levels. The objective of non-formal education is to teach reading and writing to adults who did not have the opportunity to learn reading and writing, to give them basic information, to develop their knowledge and abilities acquired during the last educational level that they attended and to create new opportunities to enable them to earn their living. Non-formal education is composed of two basic components which are general and vocational technical non-formal educational programs. The Practical Arts Schools for Girls, Advanced Technical Schools for Girls, Industrial Practical Arts Schools, Technical Education Centers for Adults, Public Education Centers and Apprenticeship Training Centers are some of the non-formal education institutions. Non-formal education may be classified as public education, apprenticeship training and distance education. Public Education A great majority of the educational activities organized outside of formal education institutions are carried out by the public education centers. Literacy courses, vocational courses and social and cultural courses are offered at these centers for individuals at every age and educational level. Activities for the expansion and development of the public education centers in Turkey are continuing. In 1999, 48,413 vocational, socio-cultural and literacy courses were offered in 920 public education centers and 961,044 participants were educated. Apprenticeship Training Apprenticeship Training. Apprenticeship training includes the training of children and youth in the secondary school age group who have completed primary education but could not receive a higher level of education, or those who have remain-ed outside of formal education for various reasons. Those young people who are at least primary school graduates and between 14 and 19 years of age can receive apprenticeship training. As a result of arrangements made by the Law of Apprenticeship and Vocational Training, vocational training system has assumed three basic field of application as formal vocational training, apprenticeship training and vocational courses. Those who finish formal vocational training may enter master's examination after a year of work experience. Apprenticeship training, in its turn, has a duration of 3 to 4 years. Those who complete this training may enter the journeyman examination. Candidates who get the right to receive a journeyman certificate may enter the master's examination after three years of work experience provided that they continue mastership training, otherwise a full five years of work experience is required. Those who do not receive a master-ship certificate cannot open an independent workplace and cannot work as a master. Vocational courses are held with the aim of providing employment opportunities for individuals who left the system of formal education and who did not have the necessary qualification. The participants may benefit from the rights given by the related law to apprentice students. Those who work at a workplace included in the vocations within the scope of the law and who have signed an apprenticeship contract, can benefit completely from their rights as students, and their insurance premiums during their training are paid by the Ministry of National Education. In 1999, 228,844 students received apprenticeship training at 330 centers. In the year 2000, all the working youth is planned to be provided with apprenticeship training. Distance Education Every Turkish citizen is provided with the service of distance education so as to realize equality of opportunity in education and to support education given in the institutions of secondary education. Within the scope of distance education services, open primary education school and open education high school are available. Open primary education school, started by the application of eight-year uninterrupted compulsary primary education, provides, by the method of distance education, those individuals who have already graduated primary school but could not continue secondary school for any reason, the opportunity of completing eight-year primary education. There are 137,847 students in open primary education school in the 1999-2000 school year. Open education high school provides service for those students who were not able to continue in formal education institutions for various reasons, or who have passed the age for formal education or who want to move to open education high school while in formal education. There are 368,108 students in open education high schools in the 1999-2000 school year. Organization of the Education Abroad Educational and training services are provided for Turkish citizens living abroad through 39 representations, including 21 Educational Consultancies and 18 Educational Attachés. There are Turkish Educational Consultancies in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, the Hague, Brussels, Bern, Vienna, Stockholm, Riyadh, Moscow, Tbilisi, Nicosia, Cairo, Copenhagen, Almaty, Ashkhabad, Baku, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Tashkent, and Turkish Education Attachés in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Strasbourg, Essen, Frankfurt, Hannover, Karlsruhe, Nuremberg, Munster, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Mainz, Stuttgart, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Lion and Sydney. There are 867,095 Turkish students receiving education abroad and 974 teachers providing education who are sent from Turkey. Morever, there are 41 instructors at Turcology chairs of universities abroad. Within the framework of coperation started with the Central Asian Republics and the Turkish Communities in the field of education-training; 12 schools and 8 Training Centers were opened in the Central Asian Republics by the Ministry of National Education. Education and training services are given in these places to 2,485 students by 345 teachers. Within the quotas allocated for the Central Asian Republics, there are currently 7,425 students from these countries in Turkey. International Cooperation Turkey has educational, scientific and cultural agreements with 71 countries and activities related to these are continuing. Presently, six projects are being carried out by the Educational Committee of the European Council member countries. Participation in projects, carried out under the main headings "Democracy, Human Rights and Minorities; Educational and Cultural Cooperation" included in the program of the "European Council Cultural Cooperation Board", has been provided since 1993. Along with this, the UNESCO Sister Schools Project, the Southeastern Mediterranean Project aimed at developing a consciousness of the environment, and Globe Program are among other projects which are being carried out. Furthermore, The Ministry of National Education actively participates in the activities of the Educational Committees of the OECD and of the Center for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). The development of cooperation with European Union (EU) in the field of education has gained momentum with Turkey's achieving the status of full candidacy to the EU in 1999. In Turkey, which is also accepted for the participation in Leonardo da Vinci including the projects in the field of vocational education- and Socrates -dealing with general education- Programs of EU, various preparation studies are carried out for active participation in the second phase activities of these programs to take place in the period 2000-2006. Within the structure of the Ministry of National Education, the EU Consultation, Administration, Research and Development Committes are formed and there are various studies to harmonize the national legislation of education with the EU law. The projects of "Modernization of the Vocational and Technical Education Institutions", "Reinforcement of the Vocational Education and Training System in Turkey" and "Support of Basic Education" are, for the time being, carried out within the scope of Europe Mediterranean Countries Cooperation (MEDA) programs of the EU.