One in three youngsters not in school as of 2015: University report

ISTANBUL

Some 2.04 million young people aged between 15 and 19 – about a third of Turkey’s young population – were not in school as of 2015, according to a new study by Bahçeşehir University’s Center for Economic and Social Research (Betam). 

Some 71.4 percent of these “drop-outs” had an education level of primary school or less, stated the report released on May 18, basing its findings on the Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TÜİK) 2014 and 2015 household labor force surveys.  

In addition, 613,000 young females and 245,000 young males were neither included in the job market nor educational life, according to the study.

Some 30.4 percent of young males who were neither in the job market nor education indicated in the surveys that they had given up looking for a job as they thought there was no suitable one for their abilities, with many saying that their previous efforts to find work had been futile. 

However, such a loss of hope plays only a minor reason among young females, with only 3.1 percent of the surveyed young females not in work or education saying they had given up finding a position. 

Around three out of four young females, some 74.2 percent, said they were too busy with house chores and looking after children or elderly family members to join the labor force or educational life. 

Of the “hopeless” young males, some 88.4 percent have completed primary education, while this figure was 86.7 percent for the “hopeless” young females. Having a low education level therefore decreases youths’ inclination to participate in the labor force, the university study said, adding that the government should develop policies to ease the young population’s process to go back to their education life.

The report also draws attention to regional differences in terms of education. As of 2015, some 53.6 percent of youngsters aged 15 and 19 were found to be continuing their education in southeastern Anatolia, while this number jumped to 76 percent in western Anatolia. 

The eastern Black Sea region was reported to have the highest rate, with some 77 percent of youngsters aged between 15 and 19 found to be continuing their education there.