section_path: Demographics/Education
section_name: Education
paragraph_text: Education
  
  In the past 20 years, Turkey has improved quality of education and has made significant progress in increasing education access. From 2011 to 2021, improvements in education access include "one of the largest increases in educational attainment for 25-34 year-olds at upper secondary non-tertiary or tertiary education", and quadrupling of pre-school institutions. PISA results suggest improvements in education quality. There is still a gap with OECD countries. Significant challenges include differences in student outcomes from different schools, differences between rural and urban areas, pre-primary education access, and arrival of students who are Syrian refugees.
  
  The Ministry of National Education is responsible for pre-tertiary education. Compulsory education is free at public schools and lasts 12 years, divided into three parts. There are 208 universities in Turkey. Students are placed to universities based on their YKS results and their preferences, by the Measuring, Selection and Placement Center. All state and private universities are under the control of the Higher Education Board (Turkish: Yükseköğretim Kurulu, YÖK). Since 2016, the president of Turkey directly appoints all rectors of all state and private universities.
  
  According to the 2024 Times Higher Education ranking, the top universities were Koç University, Middle East Technical University, Sabancı University, and Istanbul Technical University. According to Academic Ranking of World Universities, the top ones were Istanbul University, University of Health Sciences (Turkey), and Hacettepe University. Turkey is a member of the Erasmus+ Programme. Turkey has become a hub for foreign students in recent years, with 795,962 foreign students in 2016. In 2021 Türkiye Scholarships, a government-funded program, received 165,000 applications from prospective students in 178 countries.