Third guide | Turkish Stages of Primary Education

Education in Turkey is compulsory for Turkish citizens for 12 years. This period is divided into the following: 4 years of Elementary Schools, 4 years of Middle School, and 4 years of Secondary School. As we are foreigners, let me explain how it works.

Elementary School:

Schools are divided as follows:

1. You can either register your children for State Turkish public schools accredited by the Turkish Ministry of Education or for private schools, some of which are accredited by the Ministry and some are not.

Elementary education in public schools:

1. It is compulsory for children and lasts for four years. Children in this level study the core subjects, such as mathematics, Turkish, physical education and others.
2. Public schools appoint for each class only one teacher who teaches all the subjects in the four-year period of study. In this stage, the language of study is only Turkish. In addition, the school day lasts 6 hours only, and so by 2:00 p.m, the school day is over.

Elementary education in private schools:

This type of schools is called "College." As mentioned before, some of these schools are accredited by the Turkish Ministry of Education and some are not.

The accredited schools are divided into two types:

1. Schools that teach the same curriculum adopted in the public schools; however, it differs in some aspects: The subjects are the same with English as an additional subject. These schools give attention to activities. They encompass playgrounds and swimming pools. They offer their students sports and artistic activities. However, the school day may last till 5:00 p.m, which is very helpful to working parents.
2. International schools that teach international curricula, such as the IG, IB, American Diploma and others. These schools are naturally accredited by the Turkish Ministry of Education. They have the same advantages of the other private schools, namely, different teachers for different subjects, playgrounds as well as sports and artistic activities. The school day may last till 5:00 p.m as well.

The non-accredited schools:

1. The last type of elementary schools is private but not accredited by the Turkish Ministry of Education. They teach international curricula as well. Some of these schools teach the Lebanese, Egyptian, or Iraqi curricula. These schools have to be accredited by the embassy of the students' home country. From these schools, students get a certificate that could be approved by the embassy, and then approved by the Turkish Ministry of Education. Hence, their certificate become recognized in Turkey. As if you are studying in Lebanon, Egypt or Iraq, but on the Turkish territory.

Middle School Education:

1. It is a compulsory four-year middle school divided into three types: General, vocational and technical.
2. Middle school education is related to Secondary education. This means that students choices in middle schools pave their way to complete their secondary education. Therefore, in Turkey, you will find that the high schools include the middle schools too. Hence, students can study for 8 years in one school.

Once the students, both the Turkish and the international studens, finish the four years of the middle school, they sit for an exam to be able to complete a secondary stage called LİSELERE GİRİŞ SINAVI (LGS).

The types of high (secondary) schools are as follows:

General High Schools - DÜZ LİSSİ:

1. They offer a four-year program of regular secondary education. After the students finish this program, they sit for an entrance exam to be able to join the university.

Vocational High Schools - MESLEK LISESI:

1. Vocational high schools offer a number of majors, such as technology, communication, hospitality, tourism and marine. Students there study one additional year. After graduation, they could apply for Higher Institutes without having to sit for an exam or apply for universities, but with an entrance exam.

Anatolian High School - ANADOLU LİSESİ:

1. This type of schools give priority to the foreign language. Some schools offer a one-year preparatory for acquiring that foreign language. The school hours are less that other schools. Students there can also choose another foreign language during their study.

Examples: Galatasaray Lisesi, Gaziköy Lisesi and İstanbul Lisesi.

Science High Schools - FEN LİSESİ:

1. These schools were established to provide education to the exceptionally gifted mathematics and science students. Student have to get a high score in the Middle School stage to be able to join this type of schools.

Imam Hatip Schools - İmam-HATİP LİSESİ:

1. These schools aim to graduate imams, preachers and teachers of Qur'an and religion. They are accredited by the Turkish Ministry of Education. They also offer Middle School education; thus, students can study there 8 years in a row.
2. These schools prepare its students to join the faculties of Theology for the tertiary level. Imam Hatip schools’ students study Shari'ah and Quranic rulings.

Fine Arts High Schools - GÜZEL SANATLAR LİSESİ:

1. These schools were established to provide education to the exceptionally gifted students in the filed of fine arts to develop their skills from an early age. At these schools, students can pursue their higher education in art majors.

In the next article, we will provide you with information about the admission requirements, costs of living, available universities and other. This series of articles will be as a comprehensive guide to students looking forward to studying in Turkey. This series was prepared in collaboration with Nafham, the biggest free online crowdsourced educational platform in Egypt and the Middle East that provides online learning and, explanation of the mandated public curriculum and support to youth and students in order to develop their life skills; and Turkey Campus Foundation for student services, an accredited agent of many Turkish universities in the field of educational counselling. Turkey Campus can help you apply for its partner Turkish universities and guarantee you get accepted there. It also helps you get exclusive over 50% discounts on your annual tuition fees through its partnership with many distinguished universities.

Don't forget to read the rest of the series' articles, and watch our videos on this Link.

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