Turkey Ministry of National Education reports 25-year educational transformation

The Turkish Ministry of National Education has released data detailing significant transformations in the country's education sector over the last 25 years. Key developments include a massive increase in the ministry's budget, rising from approximately 7.46 billion lira in 2002 to a projected 1.94 trillion lira in 2026.

Infrastructure and staffing have seen substantial growth. The number of schools and institutions is reported to have increased from 43,696 in the 2002-2003 academic year to 74,759 for the 2025-2026 period. Similarly, the number of teachers rose from 540,433 to 1,216,379, with approximately 80 percent of current teachers having been appointed between 2003 and 2026.

Digitalization efforts, such as the FATİH project, have led to the installation of 668,441 interactive whiteboards equipped with internet infrastructure. Additionally, the ministry noted that over 4.3 billion free textbooks were distributed between 2003 and 2025. Enrollment rates have also seen a sharp rise, with preschool schooling rates increasing from 11.7 percent in 2002 to 82.53 percent for the 2024-2025 academic year.