The effect of Syrian migrants on schooling in vocational technical secondary education

With the Syrian Civil War that started in March 2011, 12 million Syrians left their homes and more than 5.5 million Syrians had to flee their country. According to the data published by the Ministry of Interior in 2022, the number of Syrians with Temporary Protection Status in Turkey is approximately 3 million 761 thousand people, which has made Turkey the country hosting the highest number of refugees in the world. One of the most important sectors affected by migration is the education sector. This thesis aims to estimate the impact of Syrian immigrants on the vocational and technical secondary school enrollment rate. The effect of immigrants on schooling was examined by using the statistics published by the Ministry of Interior and the Refugees Association on Syrian immigrants and the data of vocational and technical secondary schools published by the Ministry of National Education. The results show that the enrollment rate in vocational and technical secondary schools is 1,5% higher in 13 provinces with the highest concentration of Syrian immigrants compared to other provinces. This result can be explained by the fact that the majority of immigrants from Syria prefer manual intensive work due to their language deficiency and the increased enrollment of local students in vocational and technical schools where they can improve their skills in order to avoid competition with immigrants. The schooling rate increased with the arrival of immigrants in vocational and technical secondary schools where education was given for these professions. In addition, the results were confirmed by examining the effect of the 4 provinces receiving the highest number of immigrants on schooling in other provinces. Finally, the same findings were reached in the provinces where the increase in the number of immigrants was most intense.