Have the MESEM salaries been eliminated? Who will pay the students' internship wages?

One of the most curious and worrying situations among parents and students in the public sphere during the recent periodMESEM salariesIt happened. Especially while the latest news about the status of state subsidies has thoroughly confused minds, the question of who will pay the students' internship money also took the top spot on the agenda.

Have MESEM Salaries Been Completely Removed?

MESEM students'the right to receive a salary or internship feesIt has definitely not been abolished. The main source of the misunderstandings in the public has arisen from the confusion between students' wage rights and the state contribution made to businesses.

Article 25 of Vocational Education Law No. 3308 will remain in force. According to this law, apprentices and trainees studying at vocational training centers have legal rights to receive wages.

In recent yearsUnemployment Insurance FundThrough the Unemployment Insurance Fund, the entire amount of wages paid by businesses to students has been reimbursed by the state to employers' accounts, and the five‑year temporary support mechanism has now expired.

In other words, what has changed is not the wage right itself; it is the completion of the legal period in the model where the state directly refunds this cost from fund resources to the employer.

What will the students' internship wages be?

According to the current legal framework(Law No. 3308)According to it, the primary responsibility for paying the wages that students continuing at professional training centers are entitled to during the period they receive practical training lies with businesses, i.e., employers.

Businesses, the ones that employMESEMThey are obliged to make regular payments to their students, not falling below the minimum rates specified in the law. In previous periods, employers would first pay this fee to the student, then submit receipts to recover it from the state.

With the expiration of the current temporary provisions, employers will no longer recover these payments from the state but will have to cover them entirely from their own resources.

Current Base Salaries to be Received by Students

The wages to be received by MESEM students are determined according to the legal minimum thresholds calculated progressively on the net minimum wage:

•9th, 10th and 11th Grade Students (Apprentices):Payments will be made at a rate of at least 30% of the age‑appropriate net minimum wage.•12th‑Grade Students (Those Who Achieve Passing Eligibility):Payments will be made at a rate of at least 50% of the net minimum wage.

Are Social Security Contributions and Guarantees Continuing?

Another issue that students and their families are most curious about is the matter of social security.

According to Law No. 5510, the MESEM studentsoccupational accident, occupational disease and disease insurance premiumscontinues to be paid by the state. Under this framework, students do not even experience any loss of rights in the insurance coverage provided by the school. Businesses bear no direct financial burden on these premiums.