The Reality of Turkish Schools
It is surprising to learn that some Turkish girls do attend school, which challenges the common belief that Turks never send their daughters to school. However, it is important to note that many schools called “Turkish schools” are only Turkish in name. The teaching staff often consists of ignorant teachers, called “hodjas,” and even less knowledgeable “kadines,” who focus mostly on teaching prayers. Although the school programs include subjects such as Bulgarian, Turkish, and arithmetic, the instruction is very limited. Therefore, it is risky to draw conclusions about the education of the Muslim population in Bulgaria simply from the number of schools, teachers, or students Customised Private Istanbul Tour.
Children Eligible for Primary Education
According to the 1900 census, there were 670,375 children between the ages of six and twelve. Among them, 338,205 were boys and 332,170 were girls. It is important to note that primary education lasts four years, not six as it did before 1899. This means children attend school until around the age of ten rather than twelve. Some children only begin school at age seven. Additionally, some students remain in the same class for two years. Considering these factors, it is more accurate to assume that children attend primary school for an average of five years, and that school attendance is obligatory for children between six and eleven years old.
School Attendance Rates
Among the 554,568 children in this age group, 279,540 were boys and 275,228 were girls. In the school year 1903–1904, 340,668 children attended primary schools: 220,620 boys and 120,048 girls. This means that 78.9 percent of boys and 43.6 percent of girls, or 61.43 percent of all children in the required age group, were actually attending school. These figures show that while a majority of boys attended school, fewer girls did, highlighting the gap in education between the sexes.
The data demonstrates that education among Turkish children in Bulgaria is limited and uneven, especially for girls. Simply counting schools or teachers does not provide a full picture. True educational progress requires looking at actual attendance and the quality of instruction, which remains a challenge in many Turkish schools.