Turkey's Education Minister Yusuf Tekin Highlights Record Budget Share and Digital Classroom Push

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin told an audience at the 7th Inter‑School Intelligence Games Awards in Ankara that Turkey dedicates one of the highest portions of its general budget to education, a stance he says has been maintained for the past two decades. He noted the system now serves about 18 million students taught by more than 1.2 million teachers across roughly 75 000 schools, with some institutions reaching 150 000 facilities.

Tekin emphasized that physical school infrastructure has been upgraded to meet world standards, placing Turkey among the top OECD countries in student‑to‑teacher and student‑to‑classroom ratios. He also highlighted the digital upgrade: around 750 000 classrooms are equipped with internet‑connected interactive whiteboards, making Turkey the only nation where nearly every classroom has such technology, according to a UNDP report. The ministry is revising curricula to focus on skill‑based learning and AI readiness, a model praised at the World Education Forum in London by the OECD PISA director. The ceremony concluded with medals awarded to 36 student groups.