In Turkey the primary school starting age is set by the Ministry of National Education (MEB) Regulation on Pre-school and Primary Education Institutions and is calculated from the child's age in months at the end of September of the registration year. In short: a child who has completed 69 months is enrolled in the first grade, a child aged 66-68 months can start on the parent's written request, and a child aged 69-71 months can have enrolment deferred by a year on the parent's request. But "can start" is not the same as "ready". This guide explains which birth months start primary school in 2027-2028 and how you can judge whether your child is ready.
What the regulation says
According to Article 11 of the regulation (text as amended on 28 July 2026):
- First grade of primary school: Children who have completed 69 months by the end of September of the registration year are enrolled. Children aged 66, 67 and 68 months are also enrolled if their parent makes a written request.
- Deferral: On the parent's written request, school administrations place children aged 69, 70 and 71 months in pre-school education or defer their enrolment by one year.
- Pre-school class: Pre-school classes (ana sınıfı) take children aged 57-68 months at the end of September; kindergartens can take children aged 36-68 months.
- Registration period: New registrations begin in July.
The press has reported that MEB plans to raise the primary school starting age to 72 months. However, at the time of writing (November 2026) the regulation in force sets the compulsory enrolment threshold at 69 months. We will update this page if a new decision is published.
Who starts primary school in 2027-2028?
If the rules stay the same, the reference date for the 2027-2028 school year is 30 September 2027. By birth month:
| Date of birth | Age on 30 September 2027 | First grade |
|---|---|---|
| September 2021 or earlier | 72 months and over | Enrolled; the regulation has no deferral provision |
| October - December 2021 | 69-71 months | Enrolled; can be deferred by a year or placed in pre-school on the parent's written request |
| January - March 2022 | 66-68 months | Can start on the parent's written request; otherwise stays in pre-school |
| April - December 2022 | 57-65 months | Cannot start primary school; pre-school age |
The table is calculated by birth month. For children born in the last days of a month, counting by days can change the result; the exact position is determined by e-Okul and the school administration. For 2026-2027 the same calculation runs one year earlier: children born in September 2020 or earlier were enrolled, those born in October-December 2020 could defer, and those born in January-March 2021 could start on request.
School readiness: more than age
School readiness means that a child has reached the developmental level needed to meet what school expects of them. The school readiness bulletins that guidance services at MEB schools prepare for parents highlight four areas. The examples below are not a test; they are questions to guide your observations:
1. Cognitive development
- Can they listen to a short story and retell what happened in their own words?
- Can they make simple cause-and-effect links ("It rained, so the ground is wet")?
- Can they focus on an activity for 10-15 minutes?
- Do they know shapes, colours, more and less, and before and after?
2. Social-emotional development
- When separated from their parents, do they settle within a short time?
- Can they wait their turn, share, and keep going with a game that has rules?
- Can they put anger or sadness into words and ask an adult for help?
- Can they tolerate losing or making mistakes to some extent?
3. Motor development
- Can they hold a pencil correctly and draw simple shapes such as lines and circles?
- Can they cut along a line with scissors?
- Are their gross motor skills, such as running, jumping and catching a ball, close to those of their peers?
4. Self-care
- Can they go to the toilet on their own?
- Can they put on and take off their coat and pack their bag?
- Can they eat on their own?
Answering "not yet" to some of these questions is normal; development does not move at the same pace in every child. What matters is not the individual items but the overall picture.
Should a 66-68-month-old start early?
The regulation leaves this decision to the parent. Things to consider:
- Being the youngest in the class: A 66-month-old may share a classroom with a 77-month-old. The gap can show in reading and writing pace, attention span and friendships.
- The pre-school teacher's view: A teacher who has observed the child in a group for a whole year gives the most concrete information.
- A guidance meeting: A meeting with the school's psychological counsellor helps you bring the observations together.
- Another year of pre-school is not a lost year: A good pre-school programme offers a valuable year for pre-literacy, attention and social skills.
The same reasoning applies to 69-71-month-olds: the right to defer exists only for this age group and requires a written request from the parent.
Settling in
In the first weeks it is common for children to be tired, tearful or restless at home. A child who holds themselves together at school all day may show the built-up tiredness at home, where they feel safest. Our school psychologist talks about this in the first episode of the Parent Notes podcast (audio in Turkish, full English transcript on the page).
Pre-school and primary school at TED Üsküdar College
- Kindergarten: The school has 4- and 5-year-old groups. When classes are formed, the year and month of birth, the balance of girls and boys, and the social development level observed in guidance meetings are all taken into account.
- Guidance: In the pre-school class, guidance work is carried out through play-based activities, observation and individual follow-up. In the school's words, the aim is to help children grow into emotionally healthy, confident individuals with strong communication skills and to prepare them as well as possible for primary school.
- Admission: Children are admitted to the kindergarten and the primary school on the basis of a Student Profiling Interview carried out by the Psychological Counselling and Guidance Unit. It is not an exam; there is no TOGS for primary school.
- Settling in at primary school: From orientation week onwards, the guidance unit contacts every student's parents and shares its observations.
If you are interested in the primary school's language programme, see our guide to bilingual primary schools. To arrange a school visit and profiling interview, fill in the Pre-school Early Enrolment Form or the Primary School Early Enrolment Form, or call +90 216 424 44 44.