A recent report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) and the World Bank have praised Turkey's remarkable progress in education.

The "Universal Basic Skills" report stated that the education system in Turkey has shown remarkable improvement since 2003 in terms of better student performance and reduced inequality. Reducing the number of students per class and per teacher, providing free books and assigning guidance counselors for students have helped achieve greater academic success according to the report. In fact it was noted that when Turkey participated in the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam, students had received the lowest scores in reading, mathematics and science whereas today, Turkey has shown remarkable improvement in these areas.

Turkey's curriculum reform and the adaptation of PISA standards, 12-year compulsory education, modernization of teaching and learning materials and pre-school education were amongst the other assessed arrangements stated in the report.

In the report, it was also reminded that Turkey has started to provide financial support to students who want to study in private schools along with transportation support and scholarships. It was also highlighted that Turkey's Ministry of Education and Ministry of Family and Social Policies have been working harder to raise awareness on the importance of education.

Emphasizing the fact that there is a correlation between a country's economic growth and its citizens' basic skill levels, the assessments in the report show that the improvement in Turkey's education system since 2003 has been the result of a combination of the socioeconomic progress and increased effectiveness in the delivery of education.

The World Bank defined the report as a way of "measuring skills based on the achievement of youth on international assessments of learning outcomes. Using data from 76 countries, it measures the economic impact of universal achievement of basic skills for each of the 76 countries that currently have data on school enrollment and on achievement."

The report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) and the World Bank will be discussed at the World Education Forum in Korea from May 19 to 22.