Quest Turkey Property and Lifestyle Magazine

Some people delay their move abroad for fear of disrupting their children’s education; some hold the misguided belief that there is no education like the British education system, that may have rung true thirty years ago, but sadly it has lost it has lost its lustre and the Turkish education is certainly no worse than the one back home. The Turks are extremely child friendly people and if you are contemplating a move with your children rest assured that they will be well catered for and receive plenty of attention within the education system.

The State Education System

The National Ministry of Education oversees the state education system and states that regardless of your child’s nationality, all children are entitled to a free, state education here. Indeed, 22% of the national budget is spent on education, which is a high percentage in comparison to other European countries. Turkey’s education system has a very good name for science, technology and communications courses. Most small towns have their own school and many larger towns and cities have a wide choice of both state and private schools.  There are around 4,500 kindergartens and nurseries in Turkey, but attendance is not compulsory. The school year runs from mid September through to mid June with school held on weekdays only. The school day starts early in the morning with split morning and afternoon shifts in crowded schools.

Primary Education

Compulsory education begins at 6 years old and continues until children are 14. Children often stay with the same teacher throughout their primary schooling until they are 14, when they must sit the Primary Education Diploma on leaving. If a child does not pass the year he is studying in he will have to re-sit until he does and this can mean staying down a couple of grades. All primary schools offer by law special classes for mentally and physically handicapped children. Turkish primary education aims to equip each child with the basic skills, knowledge and behaviour that will enable them to become a good law abiding, dutiful citizen as well as preparing them for the next, non compulsory level of secondary education.

Secondary Education

There are almost 8,000 secondary schools across the country and each child is entitled to a secondary education from the age of 14 until age 18, although some school add on an extra year of classes in a foreign language. It is carried out in one of a number of different schools each focused on a particular aspect of education; Public High Schools offer a broad general education, Anatolian High Schools provide more foreign language classes, usually in English, French or German , Anatolian Imam-Hatip High Schools, which are identical to the Anatolian high Schools except that they offer religious education as part of the curriculum, Science High Schools, which as the name suggests offers a good grounding in the sciences, Vocational High Schools offer courses based around a particular profession like those dedicated to tourism or electronics. Each year around 1.5 million students graduate from Turkish secondary schools. The secondary curriculum covers a wide variety of subjects ranging from Turkish language and literature to Turkish history, mathematics, sciences, geography, English language, a second foreign language, National Security and Health Studies. All secondary schools are obliged to teach religious education, but the content is not limited solely to Islam and other leading world religions are included.

Tertiary Education

Turkey has around 1,273 higher education facilities across the country and entrance is regulated via the national secondary education examinations known as OSS. Universities courses last from two to four years depending on the subject studied. Many Turkish universities are members of the European Commission’s Socrates – Erasmus Programme, whereby students can continue their education within the EU and EEA and other approved candidate states and in return Turkish universities take students from other areas in the Union. The university terms are split into two semesters starting in October through to January and then March to July.

Private Schooling

Many expats as well as wealthy Turks choose to send their children to an international school where English is the main teaching language and many lessons are based on the English curriculum. Such schools take children from as early as two and a half in their kindergarten classes, but they do charge fees for each child’s education, although they are substantially lower than private schools in the UK.

Schooling Expat Children

There are many arguments for and against putting expat children into the state system. If you intend to spend only a few years in Turkey, then a private school may prove the best choice because it allows your children to continue their education in a familiar language and in line with a curriculum they would be following had you stayed at home. However, if you plan on making Turkey your permanent home, then your children might as well learn the language and integrate into local society by attending a state school, although private one to one language lessons before hand will give them the best start. It is always wise to get them private language lessons before throwing them in at the deep end; six months without formal schooling but with a language lesson most days will set them in far better stead when they start school. Pre school children are best attending a local kindergarten and will simply pick up the language as they go. Teens will also adapt and many expats who move to Turkey with young teens (i.e. younger than 14) put them into the state system and then into the secondary system. Those who move with children already studying for GCSE’s and A levels can continue their classes in one of the private schools although it is worth getting language lessons so that they can make friends locally and integrate better.