The school educational system in Turkey consists of three different stages, each stage is 4 years, bringing the final total to 12 years of compulsory education.
The first stage is the primary (first, second, third, and fourth).
The second stage is intermediate/middle school (fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth).
The last stage is secondary (ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth).
As for the comprehensive educational system, it consists of three stages, also divided into (elementary education, intermediate education, and higher education).
Primary education consists of the compulsory elementary stage (4 years), middle school consisting of elective and compulsory lessons, schools of imams and preachers (4 years).
Preparatory schools, schools of imams, and preachers contain various optional lessons aimed at preparing students for secondary school by supporting and honing their talents, choices, and orientations.
2- Intermadiate Education (Ortaöğretim)
Students receive an educational certificate after completing studies in these schools.
Intermediate education consists of schools that specialize in teaching certain fields while keeping other areas in a reduced form. These schools are called different names according to their specializations such as high schools, technical highs, technical agricultural highs, and others.
The middle education institutions in Turkey can be summarized as follows:
All students who have completed eight years of primary education can enter these secondary schools. After completing 4-year studies, Turkish students enter the exams "Transfer to Higher Education YGS" and "Distribution to Universities LYS".
Turkish students can enter technical institutes after completing vocational high schools without taking any exams. Technical secondary schools are divided into professional technical secondary, information, health, tourism, hotel management, education, and marine technical secondary.
The years of study in these institutions may increase by an additional year.
These are secondary schools in which education focuses on foreign languages or requires entry to study for a preparatory year in a foreign language. The number of study hours is greater than the regular secondary schools, and it contains the option to study in a second foreign language such as Galatasaray High School, Anatolia High School in Kadi Koy, and Istanbul High School.
These are secondary schools for students with distinctive abilities in technical sciences It aims to qualify students to enter technical science universities such as biology, chemistry, and others.
These are the secondary schools opened by the Ministry of Education. With the aim of creating a generation that serves the Islamic religion in the areas of public speaking and teaching the Qur'an and others, to allow students to directly prepare for employment and higher education.
It was opened with the aim of developing the capabilities of children who have distinguished talents in the field of fine art since childhood.
It is also called (Kolej), and some contain an educational system in foreign languages in some areas such as mathematics and technical sciences, and their educational fees are considerably high and admission is more difficult compared to other educational institutions.
Some of these schools are foreign, such as "Robert Koleji", "Saint Joseph Lisesi", and Avusturya Lisesi, among others.
When students finish their education in secondary schools and their equivalent schools they have the right to enter higher education institutions, and to enter universities they must take the ÖYSM and YGS and LYS exams attended by the Turkish Higher Education Institution YÖK and obtain a certain score that qualifies them for that. After the Turkish Higher Education Institute distributes students to different higher education institutions according to their points and choices, some universities require students to undergo the special talent test, but this requirement varies according to the university or college.
As for foreign students who want to study in Turkey, the matter is different, as there are special seats, and the conditions for admission depend on the exams of their central countries and international tests, such as QAT and AST, and there is also a special exam for foreigners in the name of Yus to enter Turkish universities.
The higher education system in Turkey is divided into different departments consisting of universities, high technology institutes, and the rest of the higher educational institutes (such as the Military Academy and the Police Academy).
Students who graduated from technical secondary schools can enter universities / technical institutes without any exams, but for high school students to enter technical universities they must take the Transition to Higher Education Exam (YGS) and obtain a specific score according to the Technical University / Technical Institute.
The duration of education in universities / technical institutes is two years, and some contain a preparatory year in a foreign language. After obtaining the first degree from these institutions, students can enter universities after taking the DGS, which enables them to obtain a college degree after only two years of study.
To obtain a bachelor’s degree, a student must complete a 4-year education at the university. In colleges of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine, this period varies between 5 to 6 years.
The master's degree is awarded to students who complete two years of education - some with a graduate search and some without a graduate search - a premium.