School bell rings at 10:00 a.m. on Monday in Istanbul, classes end at 3:00 p.m.

On Monday, September 14, the first day of the 2026-2027 academic year in Istanbul, classes at all public and private primary, secondary, and high schools will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. Istanbul's Provincial Administration and Department of National Education explained the arrangement as a measure to reduce traffic congestion.

Across the city, 2 million 800 thousand students, 161 thousand 453 teachers, and approximately 19 thousand school buses will take to the roads the same morning. Parents transporting their children by private vehicles are also expected to add to the congestion; on the first day last year, bus delays on the Anatolian side of the Kadıköy-Bağcılar route extended into the afternoon, becoming a subject of complaint.

According to the Department of National Education's statement, the decision aims both to enable students and teachers to reach school safely and to ensure orderly traffic flow in the city. The arrangement applies only to September 14; normal school hours will resume starting September 15.