Secondary education system in 2000s of Turkey by the high level policy documents

In the historical process, until the recent past, education, with its functions, was regarded as an activity which earned the individual an identity among the society, an instrument for meeting his material needs, and which, at the same time, united the individuals and different fractions of the society in a common understanding. However, this definition of education has begun to change with some of the propositions and practices put forward by the neoliberal understanding of today's economy, it has increased the inequality between various socio-economic groups of the society, caused issues on realization of right to education and led to the inquisition of publicness of education. The purpose of this study is to determine how the secondary education system in Turkey between the years of 2000-2023 is shaped in terms of various components and find out how its secondary education system may be evaluated in regard to educational quality, equality and rights. Within this context, the issues of equal opportunities in access to education, educational financing, private sectorization policies, vocational and technical education and educational programs are elaborated. In this study, a qualitative research technique, document analysis technique was used. Within the research, documents of BYKP (Five-Year Development Plans), Government Programs, National Education Councils, Ministry of National Education (MoNE) Strategic Plans, 2023 Education Vision were analyzed. In determining the implementation levels of policies mentioned in the documents, TURKSTAT (Turkish Statistical Institute) Statistics, Formal Education Statistics and Budget Reports, Performance Programs, Management Activity Reports of MoNE were used. When the results within the scope of the research are examined, the share of the private sector in education has been rapidly increasing in Turkey since the beginning of the 2000s. The private sectorization policies brought about by the neoliberal understanding of economy have put education, one of the many areas that the state provided, under the influence of the market and weakened the principle of equal opportunity in education. Market-led education have caused deep inequalities between various socio-economic income groups in Turkey, especially where student achievement is measured by central exams. The fact that the state began to withdraw from education services has resulted in negative consequences in terms of vertical mobility in society. Seeing education as a consumption product rather than an social right has completely changed the meaning attributed to education in society. Education coming under the control of the market with the purpose of diversification of education financing has rapidly increased the share of the private sector in the field. Practices regarding educational services started to be conducted in a non-egalitarian manner. Additionally, some decisions taken in the high level policy documents indicate that education in Turkey is moving away from a secular context. It should be considered essential that the education services be undertaken by the state with a mentality based on complete accessibility and fairness. Educational services should be fully covered by public resources. For a secular and egalitarian way of education, an understanding that ensures the impartiality of the state should be adopted in educational institutions. By increasing the share allocated to education from the public budget, educational investments should be given priority.