Türkiye’s Education Ministry has tightened oversight of private school fees, imposing a total of 83 million Turkish Liras (about $1.9 million) in administrative fines over the past two academic years amid growing public concern over soaring education costs.
According to Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, the ministry penalized 1,931 private schools after investigating some 6,500 institutions during the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 school years over alleged violations related to tuition and additional charges.
These figures were disclosed in a written response by Tekin to a parliamentary question submitted by Yavuz Aydın, a lawmaker from the opposition İYİ (Good) Party, who asked about average annual tuition fees and extra costs, such as transportation, meals, books and stationery, in private schools.
Private school fees have frequently sparked public debate in Türkiye in recent years, with parents complaining about sharp and sometimes unexpected increases, particularly in supplementary charges that are not always included in advertised tuition.
Tekin said the average annual tuition fee at private schools affiliated with the ministry for the 2025–2026 academic year stands at 232,534 liras ($5374).
According to the ministry’s calculations, the average book and stationery fee is 52,181 liras ($1206), while uniforms cost an average of 23,984 ($554) liras.
The average annual fee for school meals was reported at 99,546 liras ($2,300) and transportation services averaged 93,620 liras ($2,163).
