Education in Turkey
Encyclopedia
Education in Turkey is governed by a national system which was established in accordance with the Atatürk Reforms after the Turkish War of Independence
. It is a state supervised system designed to produce a skillful professional class for the social and economic institutes of the nation.
Children are obliged to take 8 years of primary education
between the ages of 7 and 15, and by 2001 enrollment of children in this age range was nearly 100%. For 14-18 year olds, four or more years of high school education are required in order to then progress to higher education. Annually, about 1.5 million students graduate from Turkish high schools. About 95% of students attend public schools, but inadequacies of the public system increasingly motivates middle-class parents to seek private education.
By 2010 there were over 100 universities in Turkey. Except for the Open Education Faculty at Anadolu University
, entrance is regulated by a national examination, ÖSS
, after which high school graduates are assigned to university according to their performance.
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.
High school
lasts 4 years, with some high schools having an additional year of preparatory classes in a foreign language. The different kinds of high schools of the Turkish education system include: Public High Schools, the standard type; Anatolian High School
s which traditionally provided more lessons in a selected foreign language (English
, German
or French
), although the language program has been substantially reduced since 2006; Imam-Hatip High Schools which have more lessons about religion and Arabic; Science High School
s focusing on science education; Social Sciences High Schools, Teacher High Schools, Police and Military High Schools, Vocational Schools, which focus on a certain type of profession (such as Tourism Vocational High Schools, Industrial Vocational High Schools, and Electrical Vocational High Schools; and finally, Private High Schools, which further departmentalize into the aforementioned systems of state schools. As of 2007, there are 7934 High Schools in Turkey.
The lessons taught in high schools' 9th and 10th grades are:
When students enter the 10th grade, they used to choose one of four tracks: Turkish language–Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, and Languages. In Vocational High Schools, no tracks are offered, while in Science High Schools only the Science tracks are offered. There will be no tracks as of the 2010-2011 Educational Year according to the decision of Turkish Ministry of National Education.
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 university entrance exam and continue their studies at a university. Exam scores are weighted to provide students in each track with different opportunities when entering higher education, as follows:
After the national university entrance examination
organized by the national examing body
students, if they succeed, continue with their studies at a university
.
Universities provide either two or four years of education for undergraduate studies, while graduate programs last a minimum of two years. Some universities also ask for an additional year of English preparatory study to be completed before the start of studies, unless an exemption examination is passed.
There are around 820 higher education institutions including universities with a total student enrollment of over 1 million. 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 118 universities in Turkey, which are classified as either public or foundational (private) and 373,353 students were graduated from these universities in 2006. Public universities typically charge very low fees while private foundation universities are highly expensive with fees that can reach $15,000 per annum. 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 (the technical universities are often compared with universities in the United States
, and are regularly visited by the U.S. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
and their engineering programs deemed substantially equivalent to comparable programs in the U.S..
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 other EU candidate states. 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.
With the passage of law 2547, the rector
s of all the public universities are appointed jointly by the faculty, Higher Education Council and the President of Turkey
. The current president, Abdullah Gül
, has suggested that the system might be changed to eliminate the Higher Education Council and political influence.
, acting on proposed policies by the Turkish Academy of Sciences
(TÜBA). There are more than 60 research institutes and organizations. Turkey's R&D strengths include agriculture, forestry, health, biotechnology, nuclear technologies, minerals, materials, IT, and defense.
of primary, secondary, and high schools on the basis that non-Muslims also live in Turkey. Between the years 1927-1949, religious instruction was not permitted in schools in order to stop the massive abuse of Islam which led Ottoman Empire to collapse. After the World War II
in 1949, the Ministry of Education allowed a course on religion in 4th and 5th grades of primary school.
, this new government introduced a religion course into secondary schools. This time, if the parents wanted to exempt their children from the course, they had to apply to the school with a written request. After nearly ten years, in 1967, the religion course was introduced to the 1st and 2nd grades of high school. Students, however, were enrolled for the course with the written request of their parents. In 1975, the course was extended to the third (last) grade of the high schools. And, finally, following the military coup in 1980, the religion course became schools was also constitutionally secured. The exact title of the course was, "The Culture of Religion and Knowledge of Ethics."
In 1985, the Institute for Creation Research
, a United States creationist group, helped advise Turkey’s education minister Vehbi Dinçerler on how to introduce creationism in high schools. Turkish academics have stated that the resulting ignorance of evolution led to Turkey coming last in a survey that measured knowledge of evolution in 34 industrialised nations.
Currently, religious education courses begin at the 4th grade of primary school and continues throughout secondary and high schools. From the 4th to the 8th grade, classes consist of two hours per week. At the high school level, there is one hour of class per week Thus, a student who has graduated from high school receives 8 continuous years of religion courses. There are no fixed books for the course. Rather, each school decides which book to follow—provided that the book for each level is approved by the Ministry of Education. Nearly half of the content of these courses concerns religion and Islam
(whom majority are Muslim
s) 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.
As a result of the poor standards achieved by the public system many students take an intensive English language "prep year" when entering university. These are offered by both state and private universities throughout Turkey.
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
. It is a state supervised system designed to produce a skillful professional class for the social and economic institutes of the nation.
Children are obliged to take 8 years of primary education
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
between the ages of 7 and 15, and by 2001 enrollment of children in this age range was nearly 100%. For 14-18 year olds, four or more years of high school education are required in order to then progress to higher education. Annually, about 1.5 million students graduate from Turkish high schools. About 95% of students attend public schools, but inadequacies of the public system increasingly motivates middle-class parents to seek private education.
By 2010 there were over 100 universities in Turkey. Except for the Open Education Faculty at Anadolu University
Anadolu University
Anadolu University is a public university in Eskişehir, Turkey and the fourth largest university in the world by enrollment.- History :...
, entrance is regulated by a national examination, ÖSS
ÖSS
Student Selection and Placement System or Higher Education Examination-Undergraduate Placement Examination , [formerly Student Selection Examination, ], is a standardized test for the admission to higher education in Turkey administered by ÖSYM. Within the Turkish education system, the only way to...
, after which high school graduates are assigned to university according to their performance.
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.
High school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
lasts 4 years, with some high schools having an additional year of preparatory classes in a foreign language. The different kinds of high schools of the Turkish education system include: Public High Schools, the standard type; Anatolian High School
Anatolian High School
Anatolian High School refers to public or state high schools in Turkey that admit their students based on the nation-wide High School Entrance score....
s which traditionally provided more lessons in a selected foreign language (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
or French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
), although the language program has been substantially reduced since 2006; Imam-Hatip High Schools which have more lessons about religion and Arabic; Science High School
Science High School
-Located in Japan:*Chienkan High School, Saga City*Mizusawa High School, Mizusawa-Located in South Korea:*Busan Science High School, Busan*Chungbuk Science High School, Cheongwon*Changwon Science High School, Changwon*Chonnam Science High School, Naju...
s focusing on science education; Social Sciences High Schools, Teacher High Schools, Police and Military High Schools, Vocational Schools, which focus on a certain type of profession (such as Tourism Vocational High Schools, Industrial Vocational High Schools, and Electrical Vocational High Schools; and finally, Private High Schools, which further departmentalize into the aforementioned systems of state schools. As of 2007, there are 7934 High Schools in Turkey.
The lessons taught in high schools' 9th and 10th grades are:
- Turkish languageTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Turkish literatureTurkish literatureTurkish literature comprises both oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language, either in its Ottoman form or in less exclusively literary forms, such as that spoken in the Republic of Turkey today...
, MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, GeometryGeometryGeometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, Turkish HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, a foreign language (in most cases EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
), a second foreign language (most commonly GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
but could be FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, or ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
),
When students enter the 10th grade, they used to choose one of four tracks: Turkish language–Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, and Languages. In Vocational High Schools, no tracks are offered, while in Science High Schools only the Science tracks are offered. There will be no tracks as of the 2010-2011 Educational Year according to the decision of Turkish Ministry of National Education.
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 university entrance exam and continue their studies at a university. Exam scores are weighted to provide students in each track with different opportunities when entering higher education, as follows:
- Turkish language–Mathematics gives students an advantage when applying for International RelationsInternational relationsInternational relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
, LawLawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, EducationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, PsychologyPsychologyPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, EconomyEconomyAn economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
, Business Management, and the like. - Science: weighted towards EngineeringEngineeringEngineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, Computer ScienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, MedicineMedicineMedicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, and other ScienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
related professions. - Social Sciences: HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, and EducationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. - Languages: LanguageLanguageLanguage may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
/LinguisticsLinguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and language teaching.
Universities
ÖSS
Student Selection and Placement System or Higher Education Examination-Undergraduate Placement Examination , [formerly Student Selection Examination, ], is a standardized test for the admission to higher education in Turkey administered by ÖSYM. Within the Turkish education system, the only way to...
organized by the national examing body
ÖSYM
Founded in 1973, ÖSYM is the body responsible for organizing the national level university entrance examination YGS-LYS, and several other large scale examinations in Turkey.-External links:* * *...
students, if they succeed, continue with their studies at a university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
.
Universities provide either two or four years of education for undergraduate studies, while graduate programs last a minimum of two years. Some universities also ask for an additional year of English preparatory study to be completed before the start of studies, unless an exemption examination is passed.
There are around 820 higher education institutions including universities with a total student enrollment of over 1 million. 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 118 universities in Turkey, which are classified as either public or foundational (private) and 373,353 students were graduated from these universities in 2006. Public universities typically charge very low fees while private foundation universities are highly expensive with fees that can reach $15,000 per annum. 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 (the technical universities are often compared with universities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and are regularly visited by the U.S. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
ABET, Inc., formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, is a non-profit organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology...
and their engineering programs deemed substantially equivalent to comparable programs in the U.S..
Turkish universities actively participate in the Socrates
Socrates programme
The SOCRATES programme was an educational initiative of the European Commission; 31 countries took part. The initial Socrates programme ran from 1994 until 31 December 1999 when it was replaced by the Socrates II programme on 24 January 2000, which ran until 2006...
- Erasmus
Erasmus programme
The Erasmus Programme , a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union student exchange programme established in 1987...
program of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, aiming to increase student and academician mobility within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
countries, and other EU candidate states. 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.
With the passage of law 2547, the rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
s of all the public universities are appointed jointly by the faculty, Higher Education Council and the President of Turkey
President of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
. The current president, Abdullah Gül
Abdullah Gül
Dr. Abdullah Gül, GCB is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002-03, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003-07....
, has suggested that the system might be changed to eliminate the Higher Education Council and political influence.
Research
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) coordinates basic and applied research and developmentResearch and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
, acting on proposed policies by the Turkish Academy of Sciences
Turkish Academy of Sciences
The Turkish Academy of Sciences is an autonomous scholarly society acting to promote scientific activities in Turkey. Although it is attached to the office of the Prime Minister and is largely funded by the government, it maintains financial and administrative autonomy...
(TÜBA). There are more than 60 research institutes and organizations. Turkey's R&D strengths include agriculture, forestry, health, biotechnology, nuclear technologies, minerals, materials, IT, and defense.
De-establishment
In 1927, all courses concerning religion were excluded from the curriculumCurriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
of primary, secondary, and high schools on the basis that non-Muslims also live in Turkey. Between the years 1927-1949, religious instruction was not permitted in schools in order to stop the massive abuse of Islam which led Ottoman Empire to collapse. After the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1949, the Ministry of Education allowed a course on religion in 4th and 5th grades of primary school.
Re-establishment
In 1956, as a result of multi-party democracy, a new government was established. Being more sympathetic towards the religious sentiments of societySociety
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
, this new government introduced a religion course into secondary schools. This time, if the parents wanted to exempt their children from the course, they had to apply to the school with a written request. After nearly ten years, in 1967, the religion course was introduced to the 1st and 2nd grades of high school. Students, however, were enrolled for the course with the written request of their parents. In 1975, the course was extended to the third (last) grade of the high schools. And, finally, following the military coup in 1980, the religion course became schools was also constitutionally secured. The exact title of the course was, "The Culture of Religion and Knowledge of Ethics."
In 1985, the Institute for Creation Research
Institute for Creation Research
The Institute for Creation Research is a Christian institution in Dallas, Texas that specializes in education, research, and media promotion of Creation Science and Biblical creationism. The ICR adopts the Bible as an inerrant and literal documentary of scientific and historical fact as well as...
, a United States creationist group, helped advise Turkey’s education minister Vehbi Dinçerler on how to introduce creationism in high schools. Turkish academics have stated that the resulting ignorance of evolution led to Turkey coming last in a survey that measured knowledge of evolution in 34 industrialised nations.
Currently, religious education courses begin at the 4th grade of primary school and continues throughout secondary and high schools. From the 4th to the 8th grade, classes consist of two hours per week. At the high school level, there is one hour of class per week Thus, a student who has graduated from high school receives 8 continuous years of religion courses. There are no fixed books for the course. Rather, each school decides which book to follow—provided that the book for each level is approved by the Ministry of Education. Nearly half of the content of these courses concerns religion and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
(whom majority are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s) with remaining topics ranging from secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
to humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and from ethical values to etiquette. The major world religions such as Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
are included in the content of the course.
Foreign languages
The most common foreign language is English, which in public schools is taught from 4th grade (age 10) onwards through to the end of high school. In high school a second foreign language is introduced. However the number of lessons given in public schools is minimal compared to private colleges, which begin teaching English in kindergarten, have two or three times as many English lessons in the timetable, and in many cases employ native speakers of English as teachers. In 2011 the Ministry of Education, under pressure from the Prime Minister to improve the learning of English in Turkey, announced that the approach to language would be thoroughly revised, part of which would include a plan to hire 40,000 foreigners as language assistants in public schools .As a result of the poor standards achieved by the public system many students take an intensive English language "prep year" when entering university. These are offered by both state and private universities throughout Turkey.
External links
- Guide For International Students
- Ministry of National Education
- Population and Development Indicators, by the Turkish Statistical Institute, Prime Ministry of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish and English)