According to the Basic Law on National Education, “Upper Secondary education includes all general, vocational and technical education institutions and vocational training centers that provide four-year compulsory formal or non-formal education based on primary education. Graduates of these schools and institutions are given diplomas according to the specialty of the program they have completed. However, in order to receive a diploma, vocational education center students must complete the differential courses determined by the Ministry of National Education.” According to this Law, the aims and duties of upper secondary education shall be in accordance with the general aims and basic principles of National Education, as follows:

• To provide all students with a minimum common general culture at the upper secondary education level, to give them the awareness and power to recognize individual and social problems, to seek solutions and to contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of the country,
• To prepare students for higher education or for both vocational and higher education or for life and work in accordance with their interests, abilities and talents in various programs and schools.

In line with these general objectives, according to Article 7 of the Ministry of National Education Regulation on Secondary Education Institutions, the goal of upper secondary education institutions:

• To foster the holistic development of students in physical, cognitive, moral, spiritual, social, and cultural dimensions; to cultivate respect for democracy and human rights; and to equip them with the knowledge and skills demanded by the contemporary era in preparation for the future.
• To repare students for higher education, profession, life and business fields by giving them a common general culture at secondary education level
• Ensuring a healthy, balanced and dynamic structure in education and employment relations in accordance with the principles and policies of the Ministry,
• Developing students’ self-confidence, self-control and sense of responsibility,
• To provide students with the habit of work and solidarity,
• To provide students with creative and critical thinking skills,
• Students will be able to learn a foreign language at a level to follow the developments and changes in the world,
• Students will be able to produce information by developing projects using their knowledge and skills,
• Providing quality education by utilizing technology
• Ensuring that individuals internalize lifelong learning as a fundamental principle,
• Promoting adherence to international standards in education, production, and service sectors, and encouraging certification processes,
• It aims to develop students’ knowledge and skills in research, development and design.

Secondary education institutions fulfill their functions in line with the general and special objectives and basic principles of Turkish National Education, in accordance with universal law, democracy and human rights; student-centered, active learning and democratic institutional culture (MoNE Regulation on Secondary Education Institutions).

The planning, allocation and monitoring appropriations for equipment, maintenance-repair, fuel for heating, educational tools and equipment and technological infrastructure investments needed for the effective conduct of education in secondary education institutions are carried out by the relevant central units; in addition, the physical requirements of newly opened secondary education institutions or secondary education institutions offering a variety of programs are also met within this scope.

Organization of Upper Secondary Education

Types of Institutions

Secondary education institutions consist of science high schools, social sciences high schools, Anatolian high schools, fine arts high schools, sports high schools, Anatolian imam hatip high schools, vocational and technical Anatolian high schools, multi-program Anatolian high schools, vocational training centers, special education vocational high schools, special education vocational schools education campuses and Research, Development, Training and Implementation Centers (ARGEM) 1 with special secondary education programs. The procedures and principles regarding the opening, closing and naming of secondary education institutions are determined by the Ministry (MoNE Regulation on Secondary Education Institutions).

Geographic Accessibility

According to Article 42 of the Turkish Constitution, no one shall be deprived of the right to education and training. In order to ensure equal opportunity in education, students are supported through school boarding and student transportation practices in accordance with the Regulation on Boarding, Scholarship, Social Assistance and School Pensions in Official Schools Affiliated to the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of National Education Regulation on Access to Education through Transportation.

Within the scope of the Regulation on Access to Education through Transportation, the conditions for the inclusion of students in the scope of transportation are that there is no public transportation service and that there is no educational institutions of the type that will meet the educational needs of the student in the settlement or the closure of these institutions. However, in cases where schools/pensions in settlements whose students are not included in the scope of transportation are subject to retrofitting, demolition and reconstruction, natural disasters such as fire, flood, earthquake, etc., students residing in these settlements can also be transported free of charge within the scope of student transportation.

In secondary education institutions, students whose families lack financial means and who are successful are also provided free boarding support within the quota determined by the Ministry. Free boarding support includes free accommodation, allowance and social assistance.

Admission Requirements and School Selection

The transition to secondary education for students in the eighth grade of secondary schools or imam hatip secondary schools is made through central placement and local placement. The placement of students into  science high schools, social sciences high schools, project-implementing educational institutions and Anatolian technical programs of vocational and technical Anatolian high schools, which take students with the central exam administered by the Ministry, is made in line with preferences according to the superiority of the central exam score.

Participation in the central exam is voluntary. The exam consists of two parts: verbal and numerical. The verbal section includes questions from Turkish, religious culture and ethics, History of Turkish Revolution and Atatürk’s Principles, and foreign language; the numerical section includes questions from mathematics and science. The exam is administered in two sessions on the same day. The date, place, implementation and other issues are specified in the guide prepared by the Ministry every year (Ministry of National Education Directive on Transition to Secondary Education).

Except for schools and school programs that admit students through central exams, other schools and programs are offered through local placement in line with the type, quota and secondary education enrollment area of the schools, students’ residence addresses, school achievement scores, attendance and non-attendance criteria, procedures and principles determined by the guidelines and student preferences. In addition, there are also schools that admit students with aptitude test scores.

Explanations regarding the application, preference, placement and enrollment regarding the transition to secondary education institutions are specified in the Directive and in the guide/guides to be published by the Ministry every year. It is also published electronically and announced to the public.

According to Article 21 of the Regulation on Secondary Education Institutions, in order to enroll in secondary education institutions, students must have completed secondary school or imam hatip secondary school and must not have completed 18 years of age at the start of the academic year, and those who will enroll in vocational training center programs must have completed 14 years of age. Students who do not meet the age requirement are not enrolled in formal secondary education institutions. The age requirement is not sought for those who have not interrupted their education. However, except for those who can graduate from school by taking the responsibility exams at the end of the academic year when they turn 22, those who cannot graduate from school are dismissed and directed to open secondary education institutions or vocational training centers. However, in matters related to enrollment and dismissal to the independent vocational education center, which is not within the vocational and technical secondary education institutions, other provisions related to age are not applied, except for the condition of being 14 years old for those who will enroll in the vocational education center program.

In addition, according to Article 34 of the Special Education Services Regulation, individuals with special educational needs who are not yet 27 years old are enrolled in secondary education institutions that implement special education programs and special education classes where these programs are implemented. Registrations are made according to the information in the student’s e-Okul/e-Mesem system or equivalency certificate. Those who are married are not enrolled, those who marry while they are students are dismissed from school and their records are sent to Open Education High School, Vocational Open Education High School or Open Education Imam Hatip High School via e-Okul/e-Mesem.

Age Levels and Grouping of Students

Upper Secondary education is the last stage of 12 years of compulsory education. Upper Secondary education institutions are public and private formal education institutions that provide four years of education and training, excluding preparatory classes. Upper Secondary education level theoretically starts at the age of 14. In order to enroll in secondary education institutions, it is required to have completed secondary school or imam hatip secondary school and to be under the age of 18 at the start of the academic year.

Students who are within the scope of the second paragraph of Article 41 of the Regulation on Upper Secondary Education Institutions can enroll in Open Education High School, Vocational Open Education High School or Open Education Imam Hatip High School. There is no age limit for those who have not interrupted their education, but those who cannot graduate from school, except for those who will graduate from school by taking the remedial exams at the end of the academic year when they complete the age of 22, are dismissed and directed to open education institutions or vocational training centers (Regulation on Upper Secondary Education Institutions).

The number of students to be admitted to asection (class) in schools/programs/fields that admit students with central exam scores, sports high schools and fine arts high schools is 30. In Anatolian high schools, Anatolian imam hatip high schools, Anatolian vocational programs of vocational and technical Anatolian high schools, multi-program Anatolian high schools, vocational and technical training centers and vocational training centers, the number of students to be admitted to a section is 34. However, this number can be increased up to 40 by taking into account the density of the number of students in the student enrollment area and the physical conditions of the school in mandatory cases.

Organization of the School Year

The school year is divided into two semesters and each semester includes a interim break. The dates for the start of the school year, interim breaks, semester breaks, summer vacation and the end of the school year are determined by the Ministry. The school year shall not be less than 180 working days.