The contemporary Turkish education system was accomplished in 1924 after Atatürk closed the religious schools, set up new secular schools, and made elementary school attendance compulsory. It was many years before the nation had the educational infrastructure to offer universal primary education, but since the early 1980s almost all children between the ages of six and ten have been listed in school. The most recent data on literacy put Turkey's overall adult literacy rate around 81 %. This statistic broke down as 90 % literacy among males aged 15 and over, and 71 % among females in that age-group.

The World Bank, which has provided funds for industrial training programs since the early 1970s, has been a major source of support for nonformal vocational training programs. These programs are intended to offer skilled personnel above and beyond the supply from the formal vocational education system, which was projected to meet 86 % of the around industrial demand for skilled and semiskilled workers through 1995. Government plans have provided for a major development of the nonformal vocational training system; 650,000 additional people are expected to obtain training in employment-related trades, including 150,000 to be trained in industrial skills during 1994 and 1995. Although the government program was expected to improve the quality and availability of skill education in less-developed regions such as eastern Turkey, the intense fighting there since 1991 has disrupted training.

first constitution stated that primary education would be obligatory for all Turks and free in government schools. By 2001, 97 % 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. only 63 % of secondary school-aged children were listed in school.