‘The Rich Spend 23 Times More on Education Than the Poor’

* Photograph: Umay Aktaş Salman / Archive

Click to read the article in Turkish

Education Reform Initiative (ERG) Researcher Umay Aktaş Salman has penned an article raising concerns over the huge gap between the educational expenses of the rich and the poor in Turkey.

In her article entitled "The Gap Between Ayşe and Elif" as part of her "Long Story" article series published on the website of the ERG, Aktaş Salman has stated that the rich spend 23 times more on education than the poor.

"There is a huge gap among the educational expenses of households in Turkey. The gap between the rich and the poor is 23 times. Taken together with the inequalities in education, the learning gap among the children gets wider", Aktaş Salman has indicated further.

Sharing the details from her interviews with parents on their educational expenses, Aktaş Salman has concluded her article as follows:

"The picture of inequality created by poverty is quite clear. As the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has indicated in its Education at a Glance 2018 report, the impact of socioeconomic status on the equity in education tends to widen for the rest of people's lives. We wanted to express this inequality through the experiences and accounts of different socioeconomic groups."

Experiences of different socioeconomic groups

Speaking to Umay Aktaş Salman from the ERG, a person named S.B. has said that they can afford their daughter Ayşe's educational expenses thanks to the support of her teacher and the stationary aid granted to the school.

"We cannot allocate a budget to our daughter's education", S.B. has indicated further and added, "My husband gets minimum wage. We pay 950 Turkish Lira rent per month. We have electricity and water bills and a limited amount of kitchen expenses. Only pasta and bulgur that would be enough for the children... Apart from pencils, we cannot use anything for a short time. My daughter uses even her eraser for two years."

Another parent named G.G., on the other hand, has explained why they have chosen a private school for their children in following words:

"If children can receive a good education, then, they can have a good background for their future. If they can discover their abilities and interests, they can also use their potential. That was what we took into consideration while choosing a school for the children."

Concluding his/her remarks, G.G. has told Aktaş Salman that apart from the annual price that they pay to the private school, they also allocate 30 thousand Turkish Lira for the out-of-school activities such as dance, ping-pong and coding education for their two children. (AÖ/SD)

Click here to read the full article in Turkish