As education in Turkey shifts towards a performance-based system, rather than the traditional focus on exams, the government plans to roll out a new reform for the benefit of students. Students will be assigned less homework throughout the academic year, while schools encourage them to take part in extracurricular activities such as arts, sports and reading.

The move follows a landmark ban on homework over the two-week midterm semester break, ordered by the Ministry of Education. Minister Nabi Avcı made headlines last week when he caught students doing their homework on a playground, despite strict instructions to teachers to not give assignments to students over the break.

The plan for less homework aims to encourage students to socialize more and relieve them of the heavy burden of homework, which until now has been seen as an essential part of education in Turkey. The second half of the academic year scheduled to start next week will see a decrease in the number of homework assignments for more than 17 million students across the country. The Ministry of Education will formally define the number of assignments that can be given during the next academic year. The ministry will also instruct schools on what kind of homework should be given.

The call to decrease homework follows efforts to simplify education for students, already forced to jockey for top grades for access to prestigious schools. A simplification of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology classes will also undergo review to make sure they are not unnecessarily complicated.