For you educators out there: according to the Turkish Daily News, only 50% of children finish high school here in Turkey. After elementary school (through age 13/14) children can attend a three-year academic high school or a four-year vocational high school. The entrance exams for the academic high schools are quite stringent so middle and upper middle income families send their children to test prep courses for up to a year before the exams. Only 10% of youth who take the university exams after high school pass and enter universities. There are also Koranic high schools; these have been classified as vocational schools meaning that there is no academic preparation for university. Some say that this may change now that the Islamist dominant party is in power.
Recently the government announced a new program to increase public school enrolments. Families will receive 12-20 Turkish Lira for each child that attends school. I’m not sure if that includes high school-aged children, but it sounds like a good step forward.
There are more universities here in Turkey now, which has helped stem the “brain drain” problem that most developing countries experience.
Another item of interest from the Turkish Daily News: In 2001, 68% of Turks had positive opinions about the United States; today that figure has dropped to 9%. That sentiment is directed at the U.S. government. We have felt nothing but gracious hospitality and friendliness here.
No comments:
Post a Comment