Lawsuit filed with the Council of State over private school tuition hikes

The Turkish Private Schools Association (TÖZOK) has challenged the regulation introduced by the Ministry of National Education (MEB) to lower tuition hike rates for private schools for the 2026-2027 academic year. TÖZOK has filed an application with the Council of State for the cancellation of the changes made in the new regulation. The association argues that basing tuition increases solely on the December PPI and CPI average could pose significant risks for private schools and could lead to unfairly high tuition hikes.

Opposing the regulation, TÖZOK has demanded that annual PPI and CPI averages be taken into account. The association noted that while the annual CPI rate in 2024 was 44.1 percent, this rate fell to only 0.4 percent in December, whereas it was 75.4 percent in July. Emphasizing the volatility of these rates, TÖZOK pointed out that, especially during periods of economic crisis, using only one month's PPI and CPI data carries the risk of exponentially increasing hike rates.

Towards the end of 2025, the MEB amended the Private Education Institutions Regulation following complaints from parents. While parents were complaining about tuition hikes exceeding 50 percent at private schools, the new regulation aimed to limit these increases. The new regulation, which will be implemented starting from the 2026-2027 academic year, will determine private school hike rates, and this process has now been taken to the Council of State by TÖZOK.

"MEB IS ENGAGING IN ARBITRARY PRACTICES"

In its petition, TÖZOK argued that the MEB's decision to abandon the practice of using annual CPI and PPI averages in favor of using only December data is an unconstitutional regulation that lacks objectivity. The association stated that this practice exceeds legal boundaries and constitutes an arbitrary decision. Recalling that annual data had been used in previous years, TÖZOK claimed that the MEB's current changes are contrary to legal regulations and that tuition increases made in this manner would be unfair and not based on economic data.

HIKE RISK AND ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY

Citing the example of the 2021 economic crisis, TÖZOK stated that private schools facing increases based on only one month's data instead of annual increases could lead to a major risk. The association expressed that such situations could lead to even higher private school tuition fees and cause parents to face significant economic difficulties. With the statement, "There is a risk that the hike rate could multiply hundreds of times," attention was drawn to economic imbalances in education.

News Source: 12punto