MINISTRY OF EDUCATION REGULATION
EQUIVALENCY – REPUBLIC OF TÜRKIYE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION
Over the past 15 years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Turkish high school students seeking to spend a year of their education abroad. However, due to limited quotas, the selection of Turkish students is conducted within strict parameters.
In recent years, the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of National Education (MEB) has carried out various initiatives related to student exchange programs. As a result of these efforts—led in part by our Türkiye General Director, Mr. Volkan Cerrahoğlu—the program was officially recognized through the amendment of the Secondary Education Institutions Regulation on September 7, 2013. Accordingly, the academic rights of students who spend a year abroad are now officially guaranteed by the Turkish education system.
Moreover, a special section has been added to the national e-Okul (student information system) to reflect the year spent abroad. Our institution provides full support in equivalency procedures with parental consent. Students participating in the exchange program are assured full academic recognition for their year abroad.
A key responsibility of our academic advisors is to ensure that students are guided to select courses abroad that align with Türkiye’s curriculum and equivalency requirements.
ENROLLMENT AND TRANSFER OF STUDENTS IN EXCHANGE PROGRAMS
Article 28 – Secondary Education Regulation
(1) The principles regarding intercultural student exchange programs are as follows:
a) Students traveling abroad from Türkiye may go abroad for educational purposes for a period not exceeding one academic year during their secondary education, provided that all responsibilities regarding education, accommodation, transportation, and similar matters are assumed by their parents or legal guardians.
b) Students must notify the school in which they are enrolled of their request, together with the relevant reasons and supporting documents, at least one month before the date of departure abroad.
c) The student’s information shall be entered by the school administration into the relevant section of the e-School system within five working days from the date of departure abroad.
ç) Monitoring and evaluation procedures regarding students’ departure abroad and return to Türkiye shall be carried out by the school, district, or provincial directorate of national education.
(2) The records of students who leave their schools to study abroad within the scope of intercultural student exchange programs shall be retained at their schools, and their status shall not be considered as a vacant quota; no transfer students shall be admitted in their place. Upon returning to Türkiye, these students shall continue their education in the grade level immediately above the grade they were attending when they went abroad.
Within this scope, educational documents obtained abroad shall be evaluated in accordance with the provisions of the Ministry of National Education Equivalency Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 9/7/2024 and numbered 32597, and shall be reflected in the student’s academic achievement. For students who go abroad during the 12th grade and return after completing their education, a secondary education diploma shall be issued by the administration of the school in which they are enrolled, based on the equivalency certificate issued for them.
(3) Those who come to Türkiye within the framework of intercultural student exchange programs, subject to the approval of the Ministry, shall be admitted to designated schools as guest students. These students shall be issued a certificate of educational status covering the period of their studies.
(4) The procedures and principles regarding student exchange programs among secondary education institutions within the country shall be determined by a guide prepared by the Ministry.
