Evaluating the Finance of Primary Education in Turkey within the Context of Neo-Liberal Policies

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the financing approaches of primary education in Turkey within the context of neo-liberal policies. Therefore the survey model was used to describe the existing situation and data were compiled with the methods of documents reviewing and personal interviews. The study group is composed of the branch office managers responsible for the budget work and the people who work in National Education Directorates of Central Administrative Districts within Ankara; namely Altondag, Mamak, Kecioren, Yenimahalle and Cankaya. The study group also consists of 15 school administrators, teachers and students' parents in those schools. The schools are located within boundaries of the above-mentioned central districts, having different socio-economic levels (SEL). A total of 62 people are interviewed throughout the research and so-called interviews are recorded on a tape. Besides, the interviews are coded to keep each person's identity information secret. The proportion of primary education expenditures in the expenditures of Ministry of National Education decreased by 6.2 per cent on average, despite the increase in the number of teachers and students between the years of 1974 and 2003. It is revealed in this study that the primary education has 13 different out budget sources. This structure of multi finances in primary education means that the government has been transferring the public responsibility of presenting and transfers goverment's responsibility of presenting and financing primary education to 'local units' and non-government organizations such as ‘civil organizations', 'firms' and 'individuals' through 'localization', 'privatization' and 'good governance' practices. It is observed that primary schools examined access approximately 60 different sources of income which are outside the Central Government Budget . But the number of those sources is varied with the SEL of the schools. Subject to the budget sources, schools have better facilities or reverse. In the research, the problems that school administrators as well as teachers and parents have faced while performing their duties and the difficulties that they have encountered during the process of finding out budget sources variate with the SEL of the schools.