Geographic Accessibility
Public schools are financed through the national budget by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE), ensuring all children have equal access to education regardless of geographic and regional differences.
In order to ensure equal access to primary education, the Student Transportation Practice is carried out in accordance with the Regulation on Access to Education through Transportation issued by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE). Within this scope, disadvantaged students residing in areas without schools or where schools have been closed are transported free of charge to the official educational institutions in which they are enrolled. In addition, students from regions affected by retrofitting, demolition and reconstruction, or natural disasters such as fire, flood, or earthquake are also entitled to benefit from free transportation.
According to the Regulation on Pre-Primary Education and Primary Education Institutions, students from settlements with no schools or where schools have been closed due to low enrollment, and those who have completed the fourth grade in combined classes but cannot benefit from transported education, are enrolled in regional boarding middle schools. If there is no such school in the student’s province, the student is placed in a Regional Boarding School located in another province. In exceptional cases, students are enrolled in boarding schools designated by the provincial directorate of national education.
Admission Requirements and School Selection
New registrations for primary schools begin on the first working day of July. Enrollment is conducted automatically through the e-Okul system, based on address information from the national address database, as regulated by the Regulation on Pre-Primary and Primary Education Institutions.
Children who turn 69 months old by the end of September in the enrollment year are enrolled in the first grade of primary school. Those who are 66 to 68 months old may also be enrolled upon written request from their parents. Upon written parental request, school administrations may either refer children aged 69–71 months to pre-primary education or defer their enrollment for one year.
Students who complete primary school and are still within the compulsory education age by the end of September are enrolled in lower secondary schools through the e-Okul system based on their registered residential address. Enrollment in specialized middle schools (music, sports, vocational, and imam hatip) is carried out by the respective school administrations upon parental application.
Primary school-age students arriving from abroad with an education certificate are placed in appropriate grades through equivalency procedures defined in the MoNE Equivalency Regulation. For those without documentation, a commission consisting of a branch manager, primary school principal, two classroom teachers, and a guidance counselor determines grade placement based on age and parental statements. There is no placement test for primary school students. Lower secondary school equivalency procedures are carried out through the e-Denklik Module.
Age Levels and Grouping of Students
Primary education covers children aged 6–14. Children who turn 72 months by December 31 are enrolled in the grade 1. Primary schools (grades 1–4) typically include children aged 6–10, while lower Secondary Schools (grades 5–8) include those aged 10–14.
Children with special education needs, whether diagnosed or not, are placed in appropriate institutions regardless of the official enrollment schedule.
Organisation of the School Year
The school year must consist of at least 180 working days. Start and end dates, as well as holiday periods, are determined by MoNE’s annual calendar. Provincial calendars are created based on this framework and approved by the governorship. Weekly instructional hours are set at 30 in primary schools and 35 in middle schools, as per the official course schedule.
Organisation of the School Days and Weeks
The start time of lessons is determined by the governorates, considering whether the school operates single or dual sessions and factoring in geographic and climatic conditions. Schools operate five days a week. Each class hour is 40 minutes. In single-session schools, recess is at least 15 minutes (with one 20-minute recess for meals), while dual-session schools allocate at least 10 minutes. A lunch break of 30–90 minutes is scheduled in single-session schools, and up to 30 minutes in dual-session schools.