Turkey: Strides in Education

At the birth of the republic more than 90 percent of the people were illiterate. Ataturk, leader of the new republic, stressed the need for modern education, and the first constitution stated that primary education would be obligatory for all Turks and free in government schools. By 2001, 97 percent of the adult population could read and write. Primary education through the first five grades is compulsory. In the 1994-1995 school year 6.5 million pupils attended primary schools.