Turkey

Context

Turkey had a mean score of 425 points in PISA 2015, compared to the OECD average of 493 points. Performance in science has remained stable across PISA cycles, with an average score change of 1.5 score points, while performance in reading and mathematics has stayed the same. Compared to other countries and economies participating in PISA variation in science performance in Turkey associated with the socio-economic status of students, as measured by the PISA index of ESCS decreased strongly between 2006 and 2012 (-6.1%). Socio-economic status had one of the lowest impacts in the OECD on science performance in PISA 2015, explaining 9% of the variance in performance (OECD average: 12.9%), and there was no significant gender difference in science performance in PISA 2015. Immigrant students make up 0.8% of the student population of 15-year-olds in Turkey, a proportion which is among the lowest in the OECD (OECD average: 12.5%). Performance differences between immigrant and non¥immigrant students are close to the OECD average. Immigrants scored on average 31 score points lower than non-immigrants in science in PISA 2015, compared to the OECD average of 31 score points.

Enrolment of 3-year-olds in ECEC was lower than the OECD average in 2015, at 11.74%, (OECD average: 77.8%). Children typically attend pre-primary education (Okul Öncesi Eğitim) starting at age 3. The programmes last between one and three years. Education-only programmes exist nationally. There is a formal curriculum in place for these programmes, and it is delivered by qualified teachers. Integrated programmes, which include education and childcare services, do not exist nationally. Compulsory education in Turkey begins at age 5-6 and ends at age 17, longer than the typical duration across the OECD. Students are first tracked into different educational pathways at age 11, earlier than the OECD average of age 14.

VET is offered in four-year VET programmes, and apprenticeships. Apprenticeship programmes are available to students who left the education system after primary education. Since 2016 all apprenticeship programmes are compulsory, and the standard length is four years (compared to the previous duration of two to three years), with most of the time spent in the workplace. In the OECD Survey of Adult Skills in 2012 and 2015, adult literacy scores in Turkey were lower than the OECD average, at 227 points, compared to the OECD average of 268 points. The gap in literacy skills between older adults (age 55-65) and younger adults (age 25-34) was higher than the OECD average. The proportion of the population aged 25-64 with lower secondary education as the highest level of attainment in Turkey is lower than the OECD average, with an attainment rate of 13.7% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 14.3%. NEET rates (the proportion of those aged 18-24 that are neither employed nor in education or training) are the highest in the OECD, at 33%, compared to the OECD average of 15.3%. The percentage of the population aged 25-34 with a tertiary-level qualification is among the lowest in the OECD, at 30.5% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 43.1%. Employment rates for 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education are among the lowest in the OECD. In 2016, 74.1% were employed, while the OECD average rate was 82.9%.

Figure 7.25. Selected indicators compared with the average: Turkey
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Note: For each indicator, the absolute performance is standardised (normalised) using a normative score ranging from 0 to 220, where 100 was set at the average, taking into account all OECD countries with available data in each case.

Sources: OECD (2016), PISA 2015 Results (Volume I): Excellence and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en; OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en; OECD (2017), Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en.

 StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888933733258

Evolution of key education policy priorities

Table 7.25. Evolution of key education policy priorities, Turkey (2008-17)

Identified by

Equity and quality

Preparing students for the future

Selected OECD country-based work, 2008-171

Turkey has made substantial progress in the area of education and human capital, but gaps vis-à-vis OECD benchmarks remain very large. This is partly due to the quality of education lagging behind quantitative changes in school years. [2016]

According to OECD evidence, Turkey needs to address high levels of skills mismatch, and many small entrepreneurs and workers need basic upskilling, as low skills inhibit the growth of productivity and incomes. [2016]

Evolution of responses to EPO Surveys, 2013 and 2016-17

Equity and quality in education continue to be seen as a challenge by Turkey, which has set several key priorities, such as improving access and completion of upper secondary education, addressing the needs of disadvantaged students and improving equity between regions (especially between urban and rural areas). Providing education facilities and services to Syrians with temporary protection in Turkey is another key target reported. [2013; 2016-17]

Improving access to both VET and tertiary education is reported as a key policy target for Turkey. [2013; 2016-17]

← 1. See Annex A, Table A A.3 for the list of OECD publications consulted for this snapshot.

Additional education policies of potential interest to other countries

  • The Project for Increasing Enrolment Rates Especially for Girls (ISEG or KEP-1, 2011-13) aimed to increase primary and secondary school participation, as well as improve family educational awareness and labour market linkages. It was piloted in the 16 provinces with the lowest enrolment rates. The outcomes of the pilot provided the basis for a follow-up Project for Increasing School Attendance Rates Especially for Girls (IAREFG or KEP-2, 2015-2017), which had similar objectives to ISEG and also aimed to improve the professional skills and competencies of the labour force in the provinces. This project is co-funded by the Turkish government and the European Union (Ministry of Labour and Social Security and EU Coordination Department, 2012). Evaluation of the KEP-2 shows that 12 977 students and 9 424 families were reached and 5 022 students continued to attend school.

  • A new system for transitioning to upper secondary education is implemented as of the 2017/18 school year. The Ministry of National Education announced in 2017 that a limited number of lower secondary schools will offer students the opportunity to take a central exam. Students who successfully pass the exam will receive a place in an upper secondary school based on their preferences.

  • The Facilitation of Procedures for Equivalence of Diplomas for Syrian students, headed by the Higher Education Council, aims to ensure their integration into the education system. The Council had facilitated the procedures for diploma equivalency of Syrian students by means of placement examinations to promote participation in the education system, grant access to quality education and hinder exclusion from learning processes.