The Ministry of National Education announced on Thursday that vocational high schools contributed $75.2 million (TL 1.4 billion) to the Turkish economy in the first nine months of 2022. Minister Mahmut Özer said that the income the schools brought in this year was 219% higher than that of the same period in 2021.

Istanbul had the highest share of the income, with TL 148.9 million, ahead of schools in the capital Ankara and the southern province of Gaziantep. Karatay Kılıçarslan Borsa Istanbul Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in the central province of Konya brought in the most income this year, at TL 25.2 million, ahead of another school in Gaziantep which earned TL 22.09 million.

The highest source of income was from food and drinks production, information technologies and automotive technologies.

Also this year, staff and students at these schools were paid more than TL 223 million in total out of the working capital of each school.

In a written statement, Özer said the schools were expanding their production capacities every day. "The production at schools both contributes to the learning process of students and the country’s economy. We pursued determined efforts to resolve their problems and had faith in vocational schools. Eventually, those schools are now venues for exports and a top choice of highly accomplished students," he said.

Vocational high schools thrived especially during the coronavirus pandemic, producing masks and sanitizers, key ingredients in fighting the outbreak. Their growing revenues reached TL 157 million back then.

The Ministry of National Education oversees an ambitious project entitled "1,000 Schools in Vocational Training" to expand facilities and boost production at these schools. The project simply involves giving more resources to existing schools, such as new workshops.

Income from production mainly helps schools become self-sufficient so as not to rely on outside aid, while also helping cut down the government’s education budget. Secondly, it offers a means of extra income for students and teachers.

As the need for intermediate staff in all sectors increases, Türkiye seeks to boost vocational high schools where factories rely on recruitment. The need for qualified staff also leads to an overhaul in improving the quality of education in vocational high schools. The "1,000 Schools" project is part of those steps to improve education capabilities in more than 3,200 vocational and technical high schools. It covers about 600,000 students in 1,000 schools. Along with new workshops, the project involves additional facilities, from laboratories to new libraries at these schools, as well as different supportive education programs for the personal development of students.