TURKEY

Area : 783,562 km² Population :70,586,256 Population :70,586,256 Capital : Ankara Official language: Turkish Type of government : Parliamentary republic

"The gateway between Europe and Asia..." "A country situated at the heart of the oldest continents of earth..." "The crossroads of many important routes since centuries..." "A bridge between ages, nations and civilizations..."

transcontinental country encircled by seas on three sides home to the sources of rivers The Bosporus and the Dardanelles

Between these land borders of Turkey, there rest the seas which surround it on three sides. The Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west, fill in the remaining parts of the frame with their lengthy beautiful coastlines.

Education Formal education Pre-school education Primary education Secondary education Non-formal education

Some Numbers Education :Compulsory for 8 years (recently decreed) Literacy Rate :Total 82 %, Male 89%, Female 69 % 22% of the national budget

Nursery Schools Mostly the families in big cities and working mothers do prefer to send their children to Nursery schools. The children basically start around four years age and learn games, theater, painting, manners, songs, etc.

Primary Schools Primary School which is compulsory for 8 years, start at the age of 7 generally but, depending on the physical development of children, it can also be 6.

A special feature of primary schools is that one teacher takes care of all the students in one class, from the first grade and continues with those children for eight years until they finish their compulsory education.

Each morning, primary school students pledge in chorus to be honest and studious, to protect the young and respect the old, to love their country more than themselves.

National Sovereignty and Children's Day, April 23 The importance of April 23 as a special day of children has been recognized by the international community. UNICEF decided to recognize this important day as the International Children's Day.

*some groups visit Turkey from all over the world,children spend time together. *During their stay in Turkey, the foreign children are housed in Turkish homes and find an important opportunity to interact with the Turkish kids and learn about each other's countries and cultures. *The foreign children groups also participate in the special session of the Grand National Assembly.

High Schools (Lyceum) normally takes 4 years with some high schools having an additional 1 year of English preparatory classes

The different kinds of high schools of the Turkish education system include: Public High Schools Anatolian High Schools Anatolian Imam-Hatip High Schools Science High Schools Vocational high schools 1)Tourism Vocational High Schools 2) Industrial Vocational High Schools 3) Electrical Vocational High Schools Private High Schools

There are 7934 High Schools in Turkey as of 2007 The lessons taught in high schools’ 9th and 10 th grades are: *Turkish Language and Literature *Geometry * Mathematic * Biology *Turkish history *Physics *Geography *Chemistry *English language *Second foreigner language(German,French,ıtalian,Arabic,Japanese,Russian)

Universities After the national university entrance examination ÖSS organized by ÖSYM, if they succeed, students continue with their studies at a university.

Universities provide either two or four years of education for undergraduate studies whereas for graduate studies, a further two years are necessary, as is typical throughout the world.