The importance of vocational education is a hot topic. However, both public and private resources allocated to this area is significantly low. Private sector spending on vocational education is 3.3 billion TL. Considering that 2.9 billion of that money comes out of citizens’ pocket, only 426 million liras are left!

SENIOR EXECUTIVES

of big companies often state that more budget should be allocated to vocational education and that students graduated from vocational secondary education (vocational high schools) are better in practice than students graduated from universities, however, official figures show that this does not any significant effect on the situation. According to the last announced data from TURKSTAT, in 2016, the general education expenditures increased 18.9 percent compared to last year and reached 160.8 billion liras. The increase in the numbers, which include government, foundation and household spendings, is more than two times of annual consumer inflation, which is 8.53 percent.

The The education expenditures of 160 billion lira represent an increase of 103 percent in the last 5 years. This means education expenditures exceed the 45.6 percent inflation rate in the last five years by 57.4 percent. However, the 27.4 percent increase compared to last year in public and private spending for vocational high schools exceeds the general education expenditures, yet it is one-tenth of total expenditures.

The vocational secondary education’s share in the total education expenditures of 160.8 billion liras is 18.9 billion liras, which amounts to only 11.7 percent. Though there is a 3 percent improvement compared to 5 years ago, the 15.4 billion liras spending on vocational schools is only 9.6 percent of the total, which is less than 11.7 per cent. The situation is worse in private sector. The private sector spending on vocational high schools is 3.3 billion liras, equal only to 2.1 percent of the total spending. Considering that 2.9 billion liras of this figure comes out of citizens’ pockets, the private sector and corporate spendings in 2016 are only 426 million lira. This means only 1 in 9 of this 2.1 percent allocated budget for vocational high schools. This shows us a clear picture regarding the budget allocated to the vocational high schools. On the other hand, the higher education has the biggest share in total education expenditures, with 55.2 billion liras, amounting to 34 percent. The spendings on primary schools is 19 percent of the total expenditures, with 31.5 billion liras.

WE SPEND MOST MONEY ON HIGH SCHOOL OUT OF OUR POCKETS

Spending on higher education has the biggest share in the total education expenditures with 55.2 billion liras, spending on high schools has the second place with 38.4 billion liras, and spending on primary education has the third place with 31.5 billion liras. The resources allocated to preschool education amount to 7.9 billion liras. For the expenditures coming directly out of citizens’ pockets, the high schools have the lion’s share with 9.8 billion lira. Secondary schools have second place with 6.8 billion lira. Even spending on preschool education coming out of citizens’ pockets reached 2 billion lira. This figure was 786 million lira 5 years ago.

130 MILLION TL IN 5 YEARS

Here, another striking point is about the education expenditures that come out of household’s pocket as the private education is encouraged in recent years. In 2016, the education expenditures that come out of citizens’ pocket reached 30.1 billion liras. This shows that 19.6 percent in one year and more than 120 percent in the last 5 years came out of citizens’ pockets. The share of total education expenditures in gross national product (GNP) reached 6.2 percent after an increase of 0.4 percent. The average education expenditure per student, which amounts to 7,449 liras, equals to the 5-month income, calculated based on the minimum wage that is 1,404 liras. Per student expenditure that comes out of the household’s pocket amounts to 1,400 liras, when 21.5 students are taken into consideration.

WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE?

The education expenditures include only common education activities that are directly related with formal education. The expenditures for buildings, inventories, staff, school buses, stationery items, books and uniforms are included in the education expenditures.