The striking response from Minister Tekin to the question, "Will compulsory education be shortened?"

30.04.2025 22:02

In a live broadcast, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin provided a noteworthy response to the question, "Will the 12-year compulsory education be shortened?" Minister Tekin stated, "There are emerging formulas. There is no decision regarding the 12-year education. As a ministry, we are closely monitoring all these discussions."

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Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin made statements during a live broadcast on TRT Haber. Minister Tekin responded to claims that compulsory education would be shortened to 12 years.

MINISTER TEKIN'S STATEMENT ON "COMPULSORY EDUCATION"

Stating that they are following the discussions on this issue but have not made a decision, Minister Tekin said: "As you know, until the introduction of the 4+4+4 system, that is, until 2011, there was 8 years of uninterrupted compulsory education. In other words, compulsory education in Turkey was 8 years. With the 4+4+4 system, it was extended to 12 years. With the extension to 12 years, the enrollment rate in secondary education in Turkey increased from 60% to 90%. That is, among our population, the reading rate of our high school students in relation to the age group, that is, among the children in that age group, while 60 of them were receiving high school education in 2011, today 90 of them are, and we have almost reached what we desire. This is an important indicator for us. It is necessary to note this somewhere.

Now, at this point, discussions of this kind have started to emerge in the public. Especially with the widespread access to higher education, a large number of students are going to higher education after secondary education, and it is automatically perceived as if compulsory education has been extended to 16 years. This is positive on one hand, but on the other hand, especially in terms of vocational and technical education, they have started to criticize us for not being able to find qualified personnel in industry, trade, and the service sector in this regard.

“THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS LIKE 'LET HIGH SCHOOL BE 2-3 YEARS'

As this is the case, we said that if there is such a demand from the public, it can be discussed. Indeed, we wanted it to be discussed, and it is being discussed. These issues are being debated on very different platforms. Chambers of Commerce are discussing it, Chambers of Industry are discussing it. There are emerging formulas. Some say that there is no decision regarding a total of 12 years of high school education. However, among the proposed models for some students, there are discussions like whether the third four should be 2 years or 3 years, and whether children should be directed to vocational education.

“WE DO NOT HAVE A DECISION MADE AT THE MOMENT”

As a ministry, we are meticulously following all these discussions. If there are issues that can be filtered out and agreed upon among them, we will take them and discuss them with the political mechanisms, with our esteemed President, and if we need to make a decision afterward, we will do so. At the moment, we do not have a decision made. Let’s just say we are following the discussions on this issue.