The Impact of Education on Economic Development in Turkey

"Economic development is the backbone of Turkey's ideal of a free, independent, ever stronger, ever more prosperous Turkey."

Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK

Turkey, which is among the developing countries (lower income group countries according to the World Bank classification) with a rapidly growing population in terms of its demographic structure, has a young population in terms of manpower resources required by the economic structure. According to the results of the Address Based Population Registration System, as of the end of 2020, the total population of Turkey was 83 million 614 thousand 362 people, while the youth population in the 15-24 age group was 12 million 893 thousand 750 people. Young population constituted 15.4% of the total population. It was observed that Turkey's youth population rate of 15.4% was higher than the youth population rates of the 27 European Union member countries. The effective utilization of this latent power of the young population in development depends on the importance to be given to education.

In my previous article titled "The Relationship between Education and Economic Development"; what the concept of economic development means and the relationship between education as an important capital investment and economic development were analyzed. In this article, the changes in the education system in Turkey and the changes in the structure of education in terms of economic development are analyzed and some research results on the impact of education on economic development in Turkey are summarized.

Turkish Education System and Changes in its Structure

The phases, structure and characteristics of the Turkish education system are extremely important in terms of determining the impact of education on economic development. In the Ottoman period, there were different education and training institutions such as secondary education institutions such as idadi, sultani, primary education institutions such as iptidai, darülfünun, military schools, madrasas, pedophile schools, minority and foreign schools established later, and Tanzimat schools. Due to the fact that each institution provided different education and training and there was no nationality in education and training, the Law No. 43 on Tevhid-i Tedrisat was enacted on March 3, 1924. With this law, Turkish education and training institutions were affiliated to the Ministry of National Education, and thus educational affairs were carried out from a single source. An important step was taken towards the principle of secularism in education by closing madrasahs and pedophile schools.

One of the most important innovations in the field of education since the establishment of the Republic was the Alphabet Revolution in 1928. The rate of illiteracy, which exceeded 90% of the total population in the first years of the Republic, decreased with the letter revolution, and this rate is now below 3%. Other innovations were the activities of public houses and public chambers established for the education of adults. Important steps were also taken in the field of higher education. The Darülfünunun in Istanbul was reorganized as Istanbul University in 1933. In the 1940s, Istanbul Technical University and Ankara University were established. Another important development was the establishment of Village Institutes. The Village Institutes aimed to use education as a tool for the development of villages.

Village Institutes were established in 1940 because 90% of the population over the age of 6 in villages was illiterate and the villages were far from health, sanitation and development opportunities. These institutions created significant changes in the social and economic structure of villages. The first official curriculum of the institutes was dated 1943, and they provided 5 years of education after primary school. The Village Institutes had direct and indirect economic, cultural and social impacts on their surroundings. They brought new production methods and products to their locations and played an important role in village development by providing market opportunities.

National Education Councils are convened in certain years to identify educational problems and to mature the system. In 1930, the First National Education Council was held. All education councils are of great importance in terms of making the education system functional, discussing problems and developing solutions.

The structure and content of the education system in Turkey is shaped by the factors that organize the National Education System. These factors are Atatürk's thoughts and opinions on education, the Constitution, the Basic Law on National Education, development plans and government programs.

According to the 1739 numbered Basic Law on National Education, the structure of the National Education System is divided into two main parts: formal and non-formal education. Formal education includes the school system. Formal education schools consist of four levels: pre-school education, primary education, secondary education and higher education. Non-formal education, on the other hand, is to provide education and training to citizens who have never entered the formal education system or who are at any stage of formal education or who have left this stage by providing education and training in various fields that are needed in addition to or outside of formal education and to ensure that individuals are trained in line with certain objectives.

Analysis of the State of Education in Turkey

In determining the level of economic development; literacy rate reflecting the existing education structure, numerical developments in primary, secondary, higher, vocational and technical education, schooling rate, the share of education in gross national product (GNP), and the share of education in the budget play an important role. These indicators are important not only for development but also for achieving a level of development in line with international standards.

One of Turkey's most important problems is the high rate of population growth. While the annual population growth rate was 5.5 per thousand in 2020, it was 12.7 per thousand in 2021. The most important problem that the average annual population growth rate of more than 1% brings to the Turkish economy is that every increase in population has a negative impact on the level and quality of education by narrowing the educational opportunities of the existing population.

Approximately half of Turkey's population is younger than 30 years of age. In contrast to this concentration of young population in Turkey, the population in Western countries (such as Germany, France, England) is concentrated at older ages. It can be said that Turkey will have a significant advantage in terms of human factor if this young population is brought to a high and qualified level of education and effective manpower and education planning is carried out.

In the distribution of age groups in the total population in Turkey, the 6-24 age group, which is considered as the age of general education, has the highest share. It is of great importance to educate the young population in the general education age group, which constitutes a significant percentage of the total population, in areas that are suitable for sectoral needs and economic demand.

Schooling Rates by Levels of Education

Reference: http://www.dpt.gov.tr/

When the schooling rates in Turkey are analyzed as given in the Table, it is seen that in the 2004-2005 academic year, 15.2% for preschool education, 95.7% for primary education, 60.8% for secondary education (general secondary education 38.8% + vocational and technical secondary education 22%) and 39.9% for higher education (formal higher education 26.5%). When these rates are analyzed, it is seen that there has been a great improvement in schooling rates in Turkey compared to the 1996-1997 academic year.

The low share of vocational and technical education in secondary education continues to be an important problem. Vocational and technical education is very important in terms of ensuring industrialization and technological progress, competing with the industrial products of developed and other countries and becoming a member of integrations such as the European Union. When the Turkish national education system is evaluated in terms of vocational and technical education, it is revealed that one of the most important problems of the Turkish labor market is the lack of qualified labor force.

On the other hand, the demand for higher education continues to increase. Since the existing conditions have not changed to the same extent in the face of the increase in the number of students in higher education, there is a quality problem in this education.

The share of the education sector in GNP is important in terms of showing how much importance is attached to education. The share of the education sector in GNP in Turkey was 2.86% in 1970, 4.44% in 1971 and 4.36% in 1972. In the years 1973-1977, it was around 3% and in the following years it was around 2%. In 1983, it rose to 3.32% and in 1984 it dropped to 2.49%. The share of education in GNP continued to decline in 1985, 1986 and 1987. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, it was 4%, 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively. In 2018, the share allocated to education was 3.8%. In developed countries, this ratio is 5% and above.

Human development is defined as the process of increasing people's options and refers to the provision of conditions for a long and healthy life, the acquisition of knowledge and a good standard of living. Even if a country has a high GNP, it is difficult to say that it is a developed country if its educational status remains at a low level.

Turkey ranks 82nd in the human development index among OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. According to the world average, it is seen that countries that attach more importance to education can show a higher development progress, while countries with low levels of education cannot develop and as a result, they are ranked lower in the world income distribution. Therefore, more resources should be allocated to education and the idea that education is an investment should be adopted.

What is the Impact of Education on Economic Development in Turkey?

One of the studies on Turkey was conducted by Çömlekçi (Necla Çömlekçi, 1971). Çömlekçi investigated the relationship between education investments and income per capita for the period 1948-1965. According to the analysis, there is a significant and strong relationship between education investments and income per capita. Mahmut Adem analyzed education expenditures for the period 1960-1972. According to the findings, it was concluded that there was no set criterion for allocating funds to the education sector in Turkey, especially to universities and the teaching departments of the Ministry of National Education, and that this situation created serious doubts as to whether the educational targets set in the plans were achieved or not, and that both the quantity and quality of education were left to chance.

In another study, the effect of education on income was calculated by taking into account schooling rates and GNP figures for the periods 1959-1960 and 1973-1974. As a result, it was found that there is a very high correlation between schooling and income. This relationship between schooling and income is lowest at the primary school level and highest at the secondary school level. The effect of schooling on income in high school and higher education was calculated to be approximately the same (Unay, 1982).

The results of another study on the effect of education on economic development in Turkey are summarized below.

In the analyses, GNI (Per Capita Income), primary, secondary and higher education enrollment rates, GNP and public education expenditures variables were used. The relationships between these variables and the effect of schooling rates on GNI were revealed.

According to the results of the study, a 10% increase in primary school enrollment rate increases the GNI by 20%. 68% of the increase in GCI is explained by the increase in enrollment rate. A 10% increase in general secondary education enrollment rate increases the GCI by 6%. A 10% increase in vocational secondary education enrollment rate is estimated to increase the GCI by 6%. A 10% change in the total secondary education enrollment variable is estimated to affect the GCI by 6%.

While a 10% increase in the higher education enrollment rate increased the GCI by approximately 6%, a 10% increase in the higher education enrollment rate in the pre-1980 period was estimated to affect the GCI by 6%, and a 10% change in the higher education enrollment rate in the post-1980 period was estimated to affect the GCI by approximately 3%. This rate is lower than the effect of the pre-1980 higher education enrollment rate on GNI.

The contribution of GNP to education is estimated to be lower than the contribution of education to GNP. A 10% increase in education expenditures was found to increase GNP by 10.4%. A 10% increase in GNP is estimated to cause a 9% increase in education expenditures.

According to the findings, the contribution of total schooling to GNI is 69.21%. The contribution of primary school enrollment rate to GCI was found to be 6.7%, that of secondary school enrollment 76.4% and that of higher education enrollment 16.9%. In other words, 6.7% of the changes in GCI are explained by primary education, 76.4% by secondary education and 16.9% by higher education enrollment rates. It is observed that the effect of secondary education on GCI is higher than other levels of education.

In order to determine the impact of education on economic development, it is not sufficient to analyze the GNI and GNP variables. Analyzing the issue in terms of other factors determining development may reveal more reliable results.

In a study to examine how and in what direction the effect of education on economic development in Turkey is, it was concluded that secondary education is more effective in increasing GNI compared to other levels of education and that the contribution of education to GNP is higher than the contribution of GNP to education. This confirms the view that investments in education as a human capital component will accelerate economic growth.

According to the results of a study conducted by Turkmen, it was found that approximately 31 percent of the average growth in the 1980-1999 period was due to the increase in human capital. This result shows that Turkey should prioritize education among factors of production for sustainable economic growth.

The relationship between educational attainment and income

Reference: TÜİK, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı

When the table is analyzed, it is understood that the higher the level of education, the higher the income level of the individual. It is noteworthy that primary school graduates receive the highest share of the country's income. This is due to the high number of primary school graduates. 

Results

The following conclusions can be drawn in terms of the relationship between education and economic development in Turkey:

- Many studies on education and the level reached by developed countries today have revealed that education is an effective factor in economic development. Education, which is considered to be the most important of the investments to be made to increase the quality of human beings, has an extremely important effect on economic growth as well as on the developments in the economic, political and cultural structure that determine development, technological development, competitiveness in the international arena and reaching a certain level of development.

- Research shows that not all levels of education affect development at the same rate, and that secondary education has a greater impact on GCI in Turkey. The reasons for this are that secondary education attracts the highest demand in terms of the intermediate manpower required by the sectors of the economy and that higher education lacks the required qualifications.

- It is considered that most of the inadequacies in the education sector in Turkey are the result of the fact that the economic policies implemented until today have not made education one of the main priorities, and the problems arising from the education system and the financing of education.

Recommendations

In the context of these results, my prioritized recommendations are as follows:

- In Turkey, priority should be given to education in the utilization of available resources. Inadequate coordination between education planning and industrial development leads to a shortage of qualified labor force. In this case, vocational and technical education policies should be developed to meet economic demand and deficiencies should be eliminated. 

- The quality of education is as important as its quantity. Higher education institutions should be improved especially in terms of quality in terms of development, becoming a member of international integrations and ensuring the level of development.

- Considering that a large part of Turkey's total population is young and of general education age, and that this human capital resource has a comparative advantage in the development and international arena, national economic priorities should be determined in a way to develop this resource.

- Changes and innovations in the Turkish education system should not be made through short-term government programs, but should be discussed in the National Education Councils in the light of scientific research and through educators specialized in educational sciences.

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