Eğitim Hakkı ve Kamu Yönetimi: Sosyal Devlet İlkesi Bağlamında Eğitimin Kamusal Bir Hizmet Olarak Analizi

ABSTRACT The right to education, within the contemporary understanding of the social state, is not merely a sphere of freedom that enables individuals’ self-development; it is also a fundamental social right that generates public responsibility for the construction of equal opportunity, social justice, and democratic citizenship. This article analyzes how education is conceptualized as a public service and through which legal–administrative instruments it is regulated and delivered by public administration, bringing together Türkiye’s constitutional and statutory framework with international norms and selected country cases. Grounded in the constitutional protection of the right to education in Türkiye (Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye, Art. 42) and the state’s social character (Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye, Art. 2), the study demonstrates that core legal instruments—such as the Basic Law of National Education (No. 1739), the Primary Education and Education Law (No. 222), and the Private Educational Institutions Law (No. 5580)—transform education into a public service in line with the principles of continuity, equality, and the public interest. In addition, the OECD’s up-to-date equity-focused indicators in education and UNESCO’s “new social contract for education” approach show that the right to education should be addressed not only in terms of access but also together with the dimensions of quality, inclusiveness, and governance (OECD, 2024; UNESCO, 2021). The comparative section discusses, through the examples of Finland, Sweden, Germany, England, Canada, the United States, and Japan, how the “public service” approach varies across different governance models (centralized/local), financing strategies, and rights-based regulatory arrangements. Ultimately, the effective realization of the right to education depends not only on legislative guarantees but is also closely tied to the capacity of public administration, fiscal prioritization, evidence-based policy design, and accountability mechanisms. Keywords: Right To Education, Social State, Public Administration, Public Service, Education Policy, Equity, Governance.