The lands of Turkey are located at a point where the three continents making up the old world, Asia, Africa and Europe are closest to each other.

Turkey is situated on an area where Europe meets Asia, creating a link between these two continents. The European part of the country is called Thrace, while the Asian part is known as Anatolia (or Asia Minor). It is bordered to the northwest by Greece and Bulgaria, to the east by the former USSR (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan Republics) and Iran, and to the south by Iraq and Syria.

The Turkish peninsula is bathed by four seas: the Mediterranean to the south, the Aegean to the west, the Sea of Marmara between the European and Asian land masses, and the Black Sea to the north. The entire coastline spans more than 8,000 kilometers (approximately 5,000 miles) in length.

Because of its geographical location the mainland of Anatolia has always found favour throughout history, and is the birthplace of many great civilizations. It has also been prominent as a center of commerce because of its land connections to three continents and the sea surrounding it on four sides.

Resources

Economy

Back to top

Climate

Although Turkey is situated in a geographical location where climatic conditions are quite temperate, the diverse nature of the landscape, and the existence in particular of the mountains that run parallel to the coasts, results in significant differences in climatic conditions from one region to the other. While the coastal areas enjoy milder climates, the inland Anatolian plateau experiences extremes of hot summers and cold winters with limited rainfall.

People

Government and Legal System

 Back to top

Education

1. Universality and equality,
2. Fulfillment of individual and social needs,
3. Freedom of choice
4. Right to education
5. Quality of opportunity
6. Education for all throughout life
7. Adherence to Ataturk's reform principles including secularism
8. Building of democracy
9. Scientific approach
10. Co-education
11. School parent cooperation.

1. To achieve 100 percent participation rate in elementary education (95 percent in 1986).
2. To raise the rate of literacy of the society which has already reached 85 %.
3. To emphasize technical and vocational education.
4. To extend comprehensive schools where multi-purpose programs are to be offered to 60 % of the children in secondary schools by the 1995-96 school year.
5. To take the necessary measures to raise the quality of national education.
6. To expand the provision of pre-school education so as to meet fully the demand for it.

Educational System - Divisions:
The educational system consists of two main divisions namely "formal" and "non-formal" education. Formal education covers the institutions of "pre-school education", "primary education", "secondary education", and "higher education". "Non-formal education" covers all other educational provision sponsored by the Ministry that occurs outside formal education.

FORMAL EDUCATION:

NON-FORMAL EDUCATION:

1. Pre-School Education:
   Pre-school education is considered an adjunct to the public education system rather than and integral part of it. Most pre-primary schools are privately operated, though some attached to State primary schools. They are concentrated in the larger towns and cities, where they meet a need arising from the rapidly rising number of working mothers.
    

    

2. Primary Education:
   8 year continious primary education is compulsory for every child as soon as they reach the age of six. Most elementary school students dress similarly in one type of uniform.
   Children who fail to reach the required standard at the end of any year may repeat it, and by this process it is possible for a child to remain in elementary school until the age of 18. Normally, however, the primary phase of basic education ends at age of 15 with award of an Elementary School Certificate (Diploma).

    

3. Secondary Education:
   The high school education is for three years. The high school programs are not different than the programs in the United States. The main distinction in the classroom structure is that the teachers, instead of students, go from class to class.
    
   1. Technical and Vocational Lycees: Although general lycees remain the core of the secondary sector, there has recently been a growing emphasis on expanding the number and capacity of technical and vocational lycees.
       
   2. Technical Lycees: These are specialized institutions and include the following specialized types:

       

      electricity,	electronics,	chemistry,
      machinery,	motors,	building.

      Courses in technical lycees are designed to prepare students either for professional life or for further studying.

       

   3. Vocational Lycees: These fall into eight main types as follows:

      Industrial Vocational Lycees	Girls' Vocational Lycees (home economics etc.)
      Public Health Vocational Lycees	Commercial Vocational Lycees
      Agricultural Vocational Lycees	Meteorology Vocational Lycee
      Animal Husbandry Vocational Lycee	Land Registration and Cadastre Vocational Lycee

   Courses in these lycees are designed to prepare students for working life in their particular fields. Graduates can also apply for higher education.

In order to provide further opportunities for the children with limited finances, there are high schools with boarding facilities. These schools are free of charge and the students are placed according to the results of an examination.

In addition to normal middle-high schools, there are also evening middle-high schools, which usually operate in the same buildings. These are designed to allow those who take up employment after primary (or middle school) to continue their formal education. Evening schools are one year longer than day schools, but they provide exactly the same right of access to secondary/higher education.

With limited exceptions, high schools are at large owned by the government and provide free educational opportunities. Graduates of these high schools can attend universities after the university entrance examination. The centralized examination is administrated by the Supreme Council of Higher Education and determines candidates for the enrollment of each university and faculty after evaluating the grades of related subjects, their high school results and their preferences according to the student capacity of each faculty.

EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION:
As with the overall administration of the country, educational administration is firmly centralized under the Ministry of Education. The Ministry is responsible for drawing up curriculum, coordinating the work of official, private and voluntary organizations, designing and building schools, developing educational materials and so on. The Supreme Council of National Education discusses and decides on curricula, regulations etc. prepared by the Ministry.
Educational affairs in the provinces are organized by the Directors of National Education appointed by the Minister. However, they work under the direction of the provincial governor.

Educational System

When we come to examine the institutions that have sustained the vital functions of the People living in Turkey, we must bear in mind that, from the year 2000 B.C. when they first appeared on the pages of history, they have been a part of three separate civilizations. During the period when they led a nomadic life in Central Asia, they were part of the institutions that harmonized with their way of life. Upon accepting the Islamic faith, and after their expeditions to Anatolia, Turks with this admixture of Islamic and Turkish elements produced a civilization and culture all of its own, which was called the "Ottoman Composition". After the establishment of the Turkish Republic on October 29, 1923,Turkey entered the sphere of western civilization and culture, and gradually adopted institutions and elements from the west merged with those of Turkey to form the "Republican Composition".

Following the adoption of Islam, coupled with the changes in the political boundaries of the Turks and their transition to a settled civilization and new way of life, educational institutions more attuned to the times of the Seljuks and the Ottomans led to theological schools, dervish lodges, guilds and fraternities. Parallel to the developments in the west, as of the 18th century, schools of engineering, military sciences, administrative sciences, medicine, law, veterinary sciences and fine arts were opened. Furthermore, high schools were opened to bring students to the level where they could follow the studies in the universityies.

Following the foundation of the Turkish Republic, as in other fields reforms were also undertaken in education. Under the law for the unification of education, which was ratified in 1924, all schools were annexed to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education was charged with the task of implementing a contemporary mode of education training for Turkish citizens by opening primary and secondary schools and other institutes and arranging courses within the framework of the educational policies decided upon. Today the Ministry also meets the requirements of these institutions in the way of teachers and administrators and draws up the respective rules, regulations and programmes. It also arranges educational programmes for children of school age who are needy or require special care.

The goal of the Turkish national education system could be summed up as being one where all individuals of the state are gathered together as an inseparable whole, united in national consciousness and thinking, trained to think along scientific lines with intellectually broadened views on world affairs, and to be productive happy individuals, who through their skills contribute to the prosperity of society and are instrumental in making the Turkish nation a creative and distinguished member of the modern world.