While it has only been a short time since the Ministry of National Education and the Council of Higher Education started discussions last year on the 2+2 division of high schools and the possibility of completing undergraduate education in 3 years, disciplinary problems, violence and academic failure in high schools, especially in non-project schools, have brought to the agenda the demands for the abolition of compulsory education in high schools by many segments, especially by journalists acting as de facto spokespersons of the Ministry of National Education on social media.
Implementing the abolition of compulsory education without taking into account the structural problems of the secondary education system would mean both disregarding the best interests of children and undermining their right to education.
Best interests of the child[1]
The best interests of the child is a fundamental principle of law and human rights, which means that the child's physical, emotional, mental and social development should be prioritized above all else and the “best” for the child should be considered when making any decision, taking any action or developing any policy regarding a child. This principle is guaranteed by international conventions and laws.
The main factors taken into account when assessing the best interests of a child are as follows:
-Protecting the physical and mental health of the child,
-Meeting their basic needs such as education, housing and care in the best possible way,
-Keeping away from dangers such as violence, abuse and neglect,
-Growing up in a loving, safe and stable family or environment.
In summary, this principle is the obligation of adults to put their own interests aside in all situations related to the child, to listen to the child's voice and to ensure that the child grows up as a healthy individual with his/her full potential.
The right to education is a fundamental human right guaranteed by constitutions and international conventions. In Turkey, education is compulsory under the supervision of the state, in a 12-year graded system (4+4+4) and free of charge in public schools, and no one can be deprived of this right.
While the right to education enables individuals to become critical thinkers, socially useful, professional and self-confident individuals, it is also the most fundamental building block of social development and democracy.
Basic foundations of the right to education and constitutional guarantees
According to Article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, no one shall be deprived of the right to education and training. Education and training shall be conducted in accordance with the principles of modern science and education under the supervision and control of the state.
International documents
The right to education has been recognized worldwide through documents such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Before moving on to discussions on compulsory education, it is necessary to look at the duration of compulsory education in some countries;
The duration of compulsory education in OECD countries generally ranges from 9-13 years (mostly 10-12 years). This duration is calculated according to the official starting and ending ages (e.g. 10 years from 6-16 years). Data comes from UNESCO and OECD reports (2024-2025) and varies from country to country according to legal regulations.
In this context, compulsory education is 13 years in the UK, Australia; 12 years in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Canada (most provinces), USA (most provinces), New Zealand; 11 years in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Switzerland (according to cantons); 10 years in Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Turkey, Mexico, Chile; 9 years in some Eastern European and Latin American OECD members (shorter duration).
The abolition of compulsory education at the secondary level, without taking any steps to solve the problems in our secondary education system, will create major problems in terms of the best interest of the child and the right to education.
At this point, before considering the abolition of compulsory education at the secondary level, it is necessary to look at the problems of the secondary education system in our country and our proposed solutions to these problems;[2]
High schools within the scope of general secondary education are as follows:
-Anadolu High School
-Science High School
-Social Sciences High School
-High School of Fine Arts
-Sports High School
-Open Education High School
-Imam-Hatip High School
-Vocational and Technical Education High School.
In these high schools, the existence of a central examination system based on selection continues; schools are far from developing students’ interests and talents; there is a success-oriented and competitive education approach in schools; there are academic, physical and other differences between high schools called project schools, where % 10 percent of students study, and other high schools; The fact that education programs are increasingly moving away from being scientific and secular, that the religious structure is strengthening in schools, that discriminatory and marginalizing practices based on race, religion, language and gender discrimination continue to increase; that vocational and technical high schools provide services entirely for the poorer segments of society; that vocational education is rapidly moving away from vocational education and being transformed into institutions that train intermediate and cheap labor force for the market.
If we look at the problems of these high schools in detail;
1-Problems Related to Education Financing
-The transfer of public resources to the private education sector continues.
-The number of classrooms in public schools is insufficient.
-Education is being systematically commercialized by the state and the rate of privatization is increasing. Practices such as renting school canteens, school buses and sports halls increase the commercialization of education.
-Only electricity, natural gas and water expenses of schools are covered from the general budget; no budget is allocated to schools for other mandatory expenses (cleaning, activity expenses, consumables, etc.).
-Attempts to provide financing to schools through parent-teacher associations or other means create a suitable ground for school administrators to deviate from ethical ways.
- Failure to meet the equipment and cleaning materials of workshops and laboratories, which is one of the biggest problems in the process of conducting vocational education.
- School administrators are not selected based on merit rather than political preferences.
- Opening MESEM programs within vocational high schools and exploitation of child labor.
- Extremely inadequate numbers of support staff in all schools.
2-Problems Related to Education Programs
Prohibition of education in mother tongue from pre-school to higher education in languages other than Turkish.
-A shift away from secular and scientific education in education programs and textbooks. The imposition of the Sunni Hanafi-Salafi faith, religiousization in education.
-The education system being far from gender equality and discriminatory practices.
Anatolian, science and social sciences high schools do not conduct skill-building activities.
The education system is exam-oriented and exam systems are frequently changed.
-Lack of alignment between the transition exam for higher education and the high school curriculum.
-Changing training programs without piloting and without seeing the outcomes of the current program.
-Use the same materials and content across all countries and all types of schools.
- Recesses are too short.
- Inadequate and insecure social facilities and school gardens.
- Low level of education of parents, problems arising from the family environment and relationships.
-Lack of sports facilities and areas necessary for the healthy and efficient teaching of applied field courses. This problem should be proven with numerical data.
In vocational high schools, needs such as dressing rooms, showers and hot water cannot be met in a healthy way and at an adequate level.
-Lack of cafeterias in schools and students' inability to get food in quantities and characteristics suitable for sports nutrition.
-Lack of infirmary and medical staff for injuries and illnesses.
-Insufficient budget allocation for participation in competitions.
High prices of branch-specific teaching tools and materials such as uniforms, tracksuits, sports shoes, etc. that students need to use.
Suggestions for solutions to the problems can be listed as follows;
-Education should be free at all levels.
-Differences in quality between schools should be identified and local and central policies should be put in place to ensure equality.
-Education programs should be developed with the understanding that “every child is special” in order to provide students with educational experiences appropriate to their interests, wishes and abilities.
-School buildings should be developed on the axis of “child health and safety”. New school buildings should be designed in a way that does not limit sports and art activities, and the number of students in existing schools should be increased and the empty spaces should be transformed so that students can fill their time with effective and meaningful activities.
-Activities to increase communication with parents should be emphasized. School structures and school management processes should be renewed to improve school-parent relations.
-The number and quality of guidance counselors should be increased.
-Curricula should be purged of unscientific content and daily/weekly class hours should be reduced.
-“feeding time” should be introduced in schools and social assistance for this time should be increased.
-The union struggle for teachers' social rights (housing, nutrition, daycare, etc.) must be increased.
-The activities of the Presidency of Religious Affairs regarding the religious education of children should be terminated. The Ministry of National Education should organize age-appropriate programs in the summer months or on weekends within the scope of non-formal education for “religious education”, which is defined as a right in international conventions, or for children to learn about the religion to which they belong.
-Religious culture and ethics courses should be abolished. Instead, there should be a religion course that includes scientific information about all religions, or sections for courses such as philosophy, history, sociology and psychology from the ninth grade onwards. There should be no religion classes at pre-school and primary levels.
-A law regulating compulsory education should be enacted. This law should limit the scope of compulsory education to formal education.
-Work should be done on how the model for the weighting of the fields in the program should be.
-The school council and student representation should be reintroduced.
-Elective courses in the religion and values group should be abolished.
-Work should be done on safe schools.
-Sociology and psychology courses should be included among compulsory courses.
-Program changes should be made after the pilot study.
-Curriculum development teams should include education specialists.
-Opportunities should be created for the professional development of teachers, and cooperation should be established with universities to provide practical training in this regard.
The status of the councils of teachers should be changed, department heads should be trained through in-service training and department heads should be held responsible for the development of department teachers.
Some of these solutions are short-term and some are long-term solutions. The schools where these solutions will be implemented are ‘Multi-Purpose High Schools'.
Multipurpose High Schools[3]
-Multipurpose schools should provide individuals with the basic vocational knowledge needed for life and prepare them for academic education.
-Flexible modular programs based on a credit system should be implemented in these schools.
-These programs should be local, regional, national and international in character.
-The preparation and renewal of curricula should be carried out with the participation of MoNE, trade unions, professional associations, universities and local governments.
-Vocational guidance units should provide vocational development support services to students in these schools.
-School structures based on social and economic differentiation should be eliminated and schools that provide education under a single roof should be established, thus eliminating the chaos of diverse schools.
-Students have the right to choose free courses according to their abilities and preferences.
-It is a new school model that enables general high schools to be disconnected from vocational and working life, and vocational high schools to get rid of the narrow vocational field and spread knowledge and skills to a wide base.
-It provides the environment for students to become people who see, interpret and question the whole social structure.
-These schools will abolish the current secondary education institutions and bring them under one roof.
-In the third and fourth years, modular programs are offered as options in science, social, fine arts and technical fields.
-Allow everyone the equal right to choose a profession and academic education in accordance with their abilities and interests.
-Saves students at all levels from child labor exploitation, gender discrimination and cheap labor.
As can be seen, if all problems in our education system are discussed with the best interests of the child and the right to education in mind, it will be easier to develop appropriate solutions instead of abolishing compulsory education.
- Memduh Cemil Şirin. An Overview of the Principle of the Best Interest of the Child through the Eyes of the Best Interest of the Child. ↑
- Eğitim Sen (2023). Education Problems and Solution Proposals Workshop / Presentations and Reports. ↑
- IV. DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION CONGRESS. VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION REPORT. ↑