This chapter aims to provide a thematic and chronological overview of on-going national reforms and policy developments that took place during the last three reference years.

Structure of the chapter

This chapter provides a thematic and chronological overview of national reforms and policy developments since 2022. The web pages that follow group reforms in the following broad thematic areas:

• Early childhood education and care

• General school education

• Vocational education and training

• Higher education

• Adult education and training.

Inside each thematic area, reforms are organised chronologically. The most recent reforms are described first. 

Government’s key objectives for education  

The objectives of education in the 2024 Presidential Annual Program are as follows:

The main objective is to ensure that all individuals have equal access to quality education and lifelong learning opportunities based on the principle of inclusiveness, to develop their academic, social and professional skills in accordance with international standards, to ensure that they become competent in analytical thinking, financial literacy, collaborative work and leadership, and to grow up as individuals who have internalized national, spiritual, moral, humanistic and social values and who are responsible towards their families and society.

It is aimed to discover the talents and capacities of individuals at an early age and direct them to areas where they can develop appropriate abilities in the fields of science, technology and professional careers, and to ensure that they take part in the social division of labor as productive and social citizens who are skilled in certain areas at a young age by equipping them with cultural, artistic, athletic and linguistic competencies, taking into account their personal interests.

It is aimed to create an innovative and competitive higher education system that aims to train academic staff and qualified manpower that will contribute to the production of universal knowledge in line with the needs of our country with a quality and result-oriented management approach, and that will make our universities a center of attraction for international students and successful academicians in their fields.

The policies and measures related to education in the 2024 Presidency Annual Program are listed below. In the creation of these policies and measures, the ' Twelfth Development Plan (2024-2028)' was taken into account. 

Policies and Measures

• Equality of opportunity will be provided for children to access quality, universal, free and pre-school education.

• Educational environments that safeguard children's mental and physical development and support child safety and well-being will be provided, and preventive mechanisms will be established for students at risk of dropping out of education and dropping out of school.

• The achievement gap among students and the quality gap among schools will be reduced, qualified and inclusive education services will be provided in all schools, the quality of human resources will be increased for this purpose, and educational activities will be expanded to ensure that families, who are an important part of the education process, contribute more in this context.

• Equal opportunities will be provided in accessing quality education.

• An assessment and evaluation system that is based on the individual's development and includes the long-term learning process will be created.

• The education system will be made more resilient and flexible against extraordinary situations.

• Correct use of technology in education will be ensured, technological literacy will be increased, and inequalities resulting from technology use will be reduced.

• In the teacher training and development process, all stages such as pre-admission education, professional development and career development will be restructured in line with the needs, thus strengthening the quality and social status of the teaching profession.

• By improving the school management system, it will be possible to include all stakeholders in the decision-making process in schools, and the quality of education will be increased with participation in school management.

• Awareness of sustainable development, especially combating climate change, will be raised among all students, and educational spaces will be designed to ensure green transformation.

• Participation in lifelong learning and diversity of documents will be increased, certification of achievements will be encouraged, the lifelong learning system will be ensured to provide the skills demanded by the labor market, and the effective use of these skills in business and social life will be ensured.

• Access to education for individuals under temporary protection will be increased.

• Cooperation with the private sector in vocational and technical education will be increased.

• The transition of individuals receiving vocational and technical education to the labor market will be facilitated.

• The education system, aimed at increasing foreign language skills, will be strengthened, especially the curriculum and teacher competence.

• The development of universities in terms of quality will be monitored and guided.

• The quality of academic staff will be increased.

• The professional competencies of university students and graduates will be increased.

• internationalization of higher education will be increased, and our country will become a center of attraction for qualified international students and academicians.

• The quantity and quality of human resources with doctorates will be increased.

• The transformation of university campuses into sustainable and climate-friendly campuses will be supported.

• Digital transformation will be achieved in higher education.

• Financial sustainability of universities will be strengthened by increasing their own revenues.

• The quality of administrative and technical personnel at universities will be increased.

• TTOs in universities will be strengthened.

• Vocational and technical education at the higher education level will be strengthened.

• The culture of quality assurance in the higher education system will be disseminated and strengthened.

  In addition to these high-level policy documents, the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan prepared by the Ministry of National Education is one of the high-level policy documents that determine the basic goals, objectives and priorities of the ministry. The Ministry of National Education 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, published in January 2024, focuses on areas such as increasing access and equal opportunities in education, supporting the professional and personal development of teachers, developing skill and process-oriented measurement and evaluation systems, adapting curricula to the needs of the age, expanding national and international education collaborations, and strengthening vocational education. The Ministry of National Education 2024-2028 Strategic Plan was prepared by examining in detail basic high-level policy documents such as the Development Plans, Medium-Term Programs, Medium-Term Financial Plans, Presidential Annual Programs, MoNE 2019-2023 Strategic Plan and National Education Council Decisions. The plan includes 7 objectives, 33 targets, 130 performance indicators and 147 strategies. In this context, opinions were exchanged with 94,747 internal stakeholders and 16,726 external stakeholders for the development of the plan.

  According to this strategy plan, the mission of the Turkish National Education System is defined as "to raise healthy generations who are committed to national, spiritual and cultural values with our qualified education staff, within the framework of programs at international standards, taking into account all differences, supporting the mental, physical, social and Turkish language development of individuals, meeting the workforce needs of our country, and measuring skills with a new education system." The vision has been determined as "to raise generations who will build the Century of Türkiye, from independence to the future."

  The Ministry of National Education 2024-2028 Strategic Plan is shaped around 10 core values. These values are: equality of opportunity, cultural and artistic sensitivity, sensitivity to people, society, science and the environment, commitment to religion, morality and values, law and justice, culture of participation and consultation, impartiality, accountability and transparency, responsibility, patriotism and merit.

  The Ministry of National Education 2024-2028 Strategic Plan and the sub-targets of each objective are determined as follows:

  Objective 1: To raise students as healthy and happy individuals who have the universal competencies required by the age and who have adopted national and spiritual values by building an ecosystem where equal opportunities and access to education are provided in basic education and where teaching processes and educational environments are used effectively.

  Objective 2: To educate students with a secondary education structure that provides the knowledge, skills and competencies needed by the age, produces technology, constructs the future through historical awareness and science, trains qualified human resources, contributes to the economy, prepares individuals for life with values, and instills empathy and kindness.

  Objective 3: To provide lifelong learning opportunities with a new individual, social and employment-oriented approach in order to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies of the individual.

  Objective 4: To increase the physical, humanistic and technological opportunities that will support the development of students in line with their interests and talents, as well as the knowledge and skills that will enable them to maximize their potential in their education and life processes and to integrate individuals with special needs into society, with a special education and guidance approach that takes differences into account.

  Objective 5: To raise productive students with a strong personality who have internalized national, spiritual and cultural values in the construction of the Century of Türkiye, who have knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors appropriate to the requirements of the age, and who have a democratic understanding and national consciousness.

         Objective 6: To expand education and training activities for citizens, compatriots and nationals living abroad and develop educational collaborations through educa          tion diplomacy studies that will increase the visibility of our country in the international arena in line with the vision of the Century of Türkiye.

         Objective 7: To develop an effective and accountable institutional structure that will increase access to education and quality with a strong physical and technologi           cal infrastructure and qualified personnel in line with the vision of the Century of Türkiye.

Finally, the policies and targets related to education in the 2025-2027 Medium Term Program are as follows:

• In addition to the support given to the innovative, medium-high and high-tech production infrastructure with physical capital investments, the improvement of the quality of human capital will be another main element that strengthens the supply-side growth in the Program period as a complement to the production factors. During this period, active labor policies will be supported by more flexible employment models and the provision of human capital for the needs of the economy will be ensured in the short term. In addition, education and employment policies that will organize all formal and non-formal education programs, especially vocational and technical education, in a way that will direct human capital to the jobs of the future in the medium term will be implemented.

• By implementing policies to accelerate the green transformation process for sustainable growth, compliance with international regulations will be strengthened, the use of renewable energy resources and energy efficiency will be increased, and training and consultancy services for green transformation will be supported.

• Improving the quality of human capital will be another important factor that will support economic growth. In this context, the quality of education, especially vocational and technical education, will be improved to develop the skills of Türkiye's young and dynamic population. Skill mismatches for the needs of the labor market will be minimized and employment, especially for women and youth, will be increased, and labor productivity will be strengthened.

• In order to encourage young people who are neither in education nor employment to participate in education and employment, programs that take into account vocational training, competencies and skills will be implemented, and grant support for young entrepreneurs will be increased.

• Opportunities and inter-institutional interactions will be improved for the development of human capital within the framework of lifelong learning and the improvement of skill compatibility, the supply of professions and competencies that are difficult to obtain will be increased, and the shortage of qualified intermediate staff will be eliminated. Cooperation among universities, private sector, local government and civil society will be developed in higher education and qualified workforce will be trained in needed areas and strategic sectors. More effective use of human resources in the field of R&D will be ensured to support innovation and competitiveness. Vocational and technical education infrastructure and curriculum will be improved to develop the supply of qualified intermediate staff.

• Vocational and technical education curricula will be updated in cooperation with the private sector, and private sector participation will be increased, including in management and financing issues, to ensure the expansion of internship and on-the-job training programs.

• Regulations will be made to ensure that students outside of vocational and technical education can receive vocational training throughout secondary education to ensure that they graduate with a profession.

• Strategic technology areas requiring qualified human resources will be identified and students will be sent abroad for postgraduate education in these areas.

• Education and vocational training activities will be expanded to increase the employability of social assistance beneficiaries.

• Financial literacy will be increased by expanding financial education activities.

• The preparedness of structures providing public services, especially education and health, against disasters and extraordinary situations will continue to be strengthened.