Public education means that education services are provided free of charge by the state without any charge so that all citizens enjoy the right to education.
The right to education is not only one of the most fundamental human rights of every citizen, it is also the most important key to the exercise of other rights. Individuals who cannot exercise their right to education cannot fully benefit from other rights.
In this sense, the attempt to undermine public education is not new; it has its roots in the 1980s, when the neoliberal system entered Turkey. From the past to the present, governments have tended to cover a portion of education expenditures from citizens.
In this sense, although education services in Turkey are mainly financed by the public administration, the contribution of households to education expenditures is also increasing. Monitoring the household share in education is important in terms of the principles of equity, justice and inclusiveness.
The expenditures made by households in order to benefit from education services are characterized as the private cost of education. The private cost of education to households consists of direct, indirect and foregone costs.
Direct costs include household expenditures on a child's school fees, books, stationery, uniforms, school bags and transportation.
Indirect monetary costs include expenditures on nutrition, shelter and clothing.
The cost of giving up is the cost of giving up earning income by attending an educational institution instead of working in a job where the individual can earn income by engaging in an economic activity. In this case, the foregone cost of attending an educational institution is the income that could be earned by working in a job.
In this context, the cost of education to households is equal to the sum of direct, indirect and foregone costs.
Eğitim masraflarının nitelikli eğitime erişimin önündeki engellerden biri olduğu düşünüldüğünde hane halkının gelir durumu ve eğitime ayırabildiği kaynaklar nitelikli eğitimi ve eğitim hakkını da etkiliyor. En güncel harcama verilerinin bulunduğu 2021’de ulusal eğitim harcamalarının %21,0’i hanehalkları tarafından yapıldı ve hanehalkı eğitim harcamaları önceki yıla göre reel olarak %15,7 arttı. 2020’nin salgın koşulları altında geçmesi nedeniyle 2019’a göre hanehalkı eğitim harcamaları reel olarak azalmıştı. 2021-22 eğitim-öğretim yılında okulların tüm yıl boyunca yüz yüze eğitime devam edebilmesi etkisini hanehalkı harcamalarında da gösterdi.
Hanehalkı eğitim harcamaları, öğretim kademelerine göre de farklılık gösteriyor. Özellikle öğrencilerin merkezi sınava hazırlandığı kademeler olan ortaokul (%24,8) ve ortaöğretimde (%26,9) hanehalkı eğitim harcamaları en yüksektir. Salgın döneminde %8,5’e kadar gerileyen okulöncesi eğitimdeki hanehalkı harcamalarının payı ise yeniden yükselişe geçti.
The fact that it is still lower than before the pandemic can be explained by MoNE's efforts to increase enrollment in preschool education and the public resources allocated to these efforts.
The restoration of public education depends on all citizens exercising their right to education without any restrictions. In this sense, it is the civic duty of every individual to be sensitive.
Sources:
Education Monitoring Report-2023 ERG
Factors Affecting Household Education Expenditures: A Theoretical Study. Hüseyin Yolcu.