Elective courses to be taught by substitute teachers

A total of 20 courses were included in the Turkish curriculum as elective courses with the passage of the compulsory education bill, which also increased the duration of compulsory education from eight years to 12. The courses will be offered starting in the 2012-2013 academic year, but the question of who will teach those elective courses came into spotlight because the number of teachers who can provide those courses is not sufficient. These elective course will be provided as optional courses, so whether a school will offer a course or not will be determined according to student demand.

The substitute teachers conducting the courses will be determined by governor's offices, provincial education directorates or district education directorates in each province. The Education Ministry will determine the qualifications for substitute teachers for each elective course, and the government offices will select teachers accordingly.

Among the elective courses that will be offered in schools are Kurdish language courses, courses on the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad, media literacy courses and living languages courses.