Higher education policies and overeducation in Turkey

Abstract

In the past two decades Turkey has experienced a rapid increase in higher education student enrollment. This sharp increase in access to higher education has satisfied a strong social demand for university education but it has led to a growing surplus of university graduates who cannot find adequate jobs. As a result Turkey has entered an overeducation phase with high rates of unemployment and underemployment for university graduates. The higher education policies of the AKP government since 2002 have played an important role in this rapid increase in student enrollment and the resulting overeducation phase.