Turkey's Ministry of National Education (MEB) published its 2026 Financial Status and Expectations Report on 1 August, detailing expenditures for the first half of the year and expectations for the second half. The report shows that in January–June 2026, the ministry spent 941,764,210,000 Turkish liras, a 39% increase compared to the same period of the previous year.
Of the total spending, according to the report, personnel expenses accounted for 723,200,000,000 Turkish liras. The report also outlines allocations to specific school types, with combined spending on imam hatip schools and vocational and technical education schools reaching 182,422,802,000 liras.
Combined spending on imam hatip and vocational/technical schools in the first half of 2026.
Specifically, the ministry spent 72,809,166,000 liras on imam hatip schools and 109,613,636,000 liras on vocational and technical education schools in the same period. In comparison, general secondary education institutions—including science high schools, social sciences high schools, and Anatolian high schools—received 108,390,278,000 liras.
This means the ministry spent more on imam hatip and vocational/technical education schools than on general secondary education institutions. In the first half of 2026, the largest share of the ministry's budget went to religious and vocational education.
The report also notes transfers from the central budget to the Turkish Maarif Foundation and the Yunus Emre Foundation. According to the report, in January–June 2026, a total of 2,124,038,000 liras was transferred, comprising 1,000,000,000 liras to the Turkish Maarif Foundation and 1,124,000,000 liras to the Yunus Emre Foundation.
According to the report, neither the Turkish Maarif Foundation nor the Yunus Emre Foundation has a representative from the Ministry of National Education in their management, despite their founding laws requiring one.
