The average number of students in each classroom is 25-40, but in some rural areas, where there are not enough teachers, even more students have to fit into the same classroom. All over the country, in each classroom above the blackboard, a portrait of Ataturk is hung. On one side you will see his Speech to the Turkish Youth and on the other, the National Anthem. There are no fees for education until college or university. Students attend school in uniforms which are usually blue or very occasionally black.
Parents have to buy uniforms, pens, pencils and notebooks.
At the beginning of the week on Monday mornings and at the end of the week during Friday afternoons, flag ceremonies are held with all the teachers and students present in the courtyard or playground of each school. Each morning, primary school students pledge in chorus to be honest and studious, to protect the young and respect the old, to love their country more than themselves and to give their existence as a present to the Turkish Nation. Children in their school uniforms UP DOWN 2. This consists of Middle School and High School, each of which normally takes 3 years. A Middle School can be either independent or annexed to a High School.