PodcastTurkey's Islamic high school occupancy rate reaches 99.8 percent
Turkish Education Minister Ziya Selçuk has said that the occupancy rate of Islamic schools - Anatolian İmam Hatip high schools - has reached 99.8 percent. The statistics drew ire on social media, with hundreds of users pointing to the fact that students who fail to enroll in a high school are automatically placed in İmam Hatip schools.
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Turkish Education Minister Ziya Selçuk has said that the occupancy rate of Islamic schools - Anatolian İmam Hatip high schools - has reached 99.8 percent.
Nearly 1.5 million students took the nationwide high school entrance exams in June and submitted the list of the schools they want to enroll after the results were revealed in July.
Selçuk on Aug. 10 shared statistics on the students accepted in various schools, with the most attention-grabbing one being on İmam Hatip schools.
According to the minister, 87 percent of those who listed the Islamic schools as one of their top three preferences were accepted.
Anadolu İmam Hatip Liselerinin %99,8’si doldu ve yerleşen öğrencilerimizin %87’si ilk üç tercihlerinde yer alan bir Anadolu İmam Hatip lisesine yerleştiler. #liseyehoşgeldiniz
— Ziya Selçuk (@ziyaselcuk) August 10, 2020
The statistics drew ire on social media, with hundreds of users pointing to the fact that students who fail to enroll in a high school are automatically placed in İmam Hatip schools.
There were also users who said that they were forced to pick İmam Hatip schools and not on their own will.
Religious middle school enrollment on steady rise in TurkeyEver since it came to power in 2002, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) places great importance to İmam Hatip schools.