Secondary education includes all the general, vocational and technical institutions of education, based on primary education, that give at least three- years education, and consists of high schools that apply various programs. after the eight years of primary education. Every student who completes primary education and who has a right to enter secondary education can benefit from the opportunities of secondary education.
The objective of secondary education is to provide the students with a common general culture at a minimum level and to prepare them to be ready for taking responsibility for the democratic society, to make them respectful of human rights and to prepare them for higher education or business life in the direction of their interests, abilities and capabilities with a consciousness for contributing to the socioeconomic and cultural development of the country.
Students are educated by being oriented towards various programs or schools, in the direction and in proportion to their interests, abilities and capabilities throughout their education. Some of the secondary schools and the private secondary schools, have foreign language preparatory classes, in conformity with the targets of the educational programs, and education in a foreign language is provided in science group and mathematics.
Secondary education is classified as general secondary education and vocational-technical secondary education. Within the scope of the general secondary education there are five kinds of schools, namely the Anatolia High Schools, the Science High Schools, the Anatolia Fine Arts and Teachers High Schools, the evening high schools and private high schools.
The vocational-technical high schools are gathered in four groups as the Technical High Schools for Girls and Boys, the Trade and Tourism Schools and Schools for Religious Education. Along with these, in places with less and scattered population, and in places approved by the Ministry of Education, high schools with a multi-program that apply vocational-technical education programs may be opened.
Vocational-technical education educate students for the fields of occupation and vocation with the objective of meeting the need for qualified persons essential to the country and to prevent over-application of students at the universities, besides preparing students for higher education.