Number of schools rise, student enrollment drops in country

Melike Çalkap – ISTANBUL

While the number of schools in Türkiye has seen a rise during the 2023–2024 academic year, there has been a significant decline in the number of high school and preschool students, according to the Education Ministry's official education figures.

In the 2022–2023 academic year, almost 2.1 million kids finished their preschool education, however, this figure stood at 1.9 million the following year.

Similarly, around 6.7 million pupils graduated from high school in the 2022–2023 academic year while this number was 5.7 million in the last academic year.

The data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜIK) indicate that the country’s fertility rate has been gradually declining, albeit slowly, since 2014. This decline might be the core reason for the decline in the number of preschoolers.

However, an utterly different scenario emerges for the decline in high school students, as expert Coşkun Bayrak highlighted that there are three possible reasons for this sharp downfall.

The first of one these reasons, according to Bayrak, is that students begin their working lives earlier as a result of the nation's current economic circumstances.

The students, as well as their families, losing faith in the education system might be the second reason, he further added. “In other words, the belief that their education would not guarantee employment may be motivating students to drop out of school.”

The younger generation's desire to generate money swiftly as a result of their fascination with the digital world might be the last explanation, Bayrak noted.

“Children realize that they can become social media influencers and earn money quickly and effortlessly,” he explained. “Naturally, they could have chosen to pursue choices that would allow them to make money online rather than finishing their education.”

On the other hand, the ministry declared that the reason for this decline in enrollment is not due to students dropping out but rather opting for open education high schools.