Education in Turkey

The entire modern education system in Turkey was created in accordance with the reforms of Ataturk, carried out to improve the quality of education, which can be freely controlled by the state. Turkey is one of those countries where the number of international students can sometimes be comparable with local residents. For example, now Antalya International University (AIU) has become the youngest university, which opened its doors in 2012, where more than half of the students are foreigners. In the period 2019-2020, there were about 48,000 foreign students in the country and it is expected that in a year their number will reach 100,000 people.

Preschool education

Children from the age of 2 (in the state - from 4 years old) to 6 years old can freely attend nurseries and kindergartens. In the presence of a residence permit, a foreigner's child has the right to go to both public and private institutions of preschool education. A special demand for kindergartens among Russian-speaking families is noticeable in Antalya and Alanya. For example, in Mahmutlar, the most popular Turkish city among our compatriots, where today one can observe the almost complete absence of a language barrier in many spheres of life, including the environment of preschool education, one can see that Russian-speaking children have become the most active visitors to local kindergartens.

The cost of a child's stay in preschool institutions in Turkey may vary, but usually one month of stay in a state kindergarten costs parents about $ 48. If the father is a Turkish citizen, but one of the parents does not work, then the child is taken only for half a day: from morning to lunch or from lunch to evening. A similar situation will occur if both parents are foreigners and have a residence permit. Their child will definitely be accepted without Turkish citizenship, but he will only be in kindergarten for half a day. You need to enroll in the state kindergarten in advance: usually filling out questionnaires takes place in mid-June, that is, a few months before the start of the school academic year. And it should be understood that the number of seats is limited.

Many parents choose private kindergartens for their children in Turkey because of small groups, good food, high-quality toys. They also often have English classes, and there is also an opportunity to attend additional sections.For example, in Antalya there are gardens where children are taught exclusively by English-speaking educators, but the cost of such a garden will be higher than others.Children often go on excursions to the city, to a horse farm, to the theater and visit museums, but additional payment is taken for all these excursions.The average cost of a child's stay in a private garden will cost $ 150-220 per month.

Secondary education

From the age of 5, a child gets into a group where he is being prepared for admission to primary school - they are in kindergartens and at primary school. Primary (compulsory for all) and secondary education in Turkey is free – it is funded by the state and lasts 12 years. There are also private elementary schools, which differ from public ones in the number of students in the classroom, an expanded curriculum and a set of additional services. The cost of tuition in private schools ranges from $ 150 per month and above. Primary school previously lasted 5 years, but after the 1997 reforms, its duration increased to 8 years. Although secondary education is not compulsory, but without it, as elsewhere in the world, it is impossible to enter a university. 

First, children learn the basics of four subjects: Turkish, mathematics, Hayat bilgisi ("knowledge of life", which in high school is transformed into social studies) and a foreign language, most often it is English, but depending on the school it can be German, French, Spanish, etc. Some advanced schools teach several foreign languages at the same time, therefore, if this factor is important for parents, as well as the quality of education itself, then it makes sense to immediately send the child to a private school, where the management prefers to hire native speakers as teachers. In high school, literature, history, geography, physics, chemistry, zoology, botany, military training for boys and home economics for girls are added. Secondary education applies to adolescents aged 12-18 years: as the first stage, I am in three-year secondary schools and as the second stage in lyceums, the duration of study in which ranges from two to four years. In lyceums, where tuition is already only paid, a broader and more in-depth education is given than in a "three-year-old". The last classes of lyceums are divided into two departments - humanities and natural sciences and mathematics. Graduates of the first enter the humanities faculties of universities, the second - the natural sciences.

Russian Russian schools are in great demand in Turkey, so today they are in Istanbul, Antalya, Alanya and Izmir, a Russian school will open soon. Subjects are taught in Russian, and Turkish is studied as a foreign language. Since such educational institutions are private and exclusive, the cost can vary from $5,000 to $20,000 per year, depending on the school.

Specialized secondary education

The system of vocational and technical education is quite well developed in Turkey, thanks to which the country trains cadres among junior technical personnel. It is worth noting that in Turkey the phrase "professional institutes" is used in relation to secondary technical institutions, the program of which roughly corresponds to Russian technical schools. The popularity of this type of education among both locals and citizens of other countries is high, since it provides applied knowledge that can be applied to employment as junior technical personnel both in Turkey and in Europe and Russia.

Higher education

Today there are 171 universities operating in Turkey, most of which are state educational institutions. But back in 1970 there were only 8 universities in the country, and in 1984 the first private university, Bilkent University in Ankara, began its work. The leader among the higher educational institutions of Turkey is Bosphorus University - the Bosphorus University in Istanbul, it is among the top 200 most prestigious universities in the world and is open to students who speak English. Since the university was founded by an American professor, it operates according to the American education system, so it is often called "Turkish Harvard". Its territory is huge, and the atmosphere inside will really make you feel like at Harvard. 

Another long-term leader of educational rankings, Istanbul University, the oldest in the country, was founded in 1453. The main territory of the university is located in the old part of the city, between the Bayazit and Suleymaniye mosques, which is why it attracts foreigners so much. The third university of this city, Marmara University, is also one of the oldest in the country, was founded in 1883. This university will be a good choice for those who want to participate in student exchange programs with the opportunity to study for a semester or two in another country. In addition, teaching at Marmara University is conducted in 5 languages. 

Everywhere there is a three-stage system of education: bachelor's, master's and postgraduate studies. The main language of instruction in Turkish universities is Turkish, in a number of universities, both private and public, there is an opportunity to receive education in English. Many foreigners are attracted by the availability of higher education in Turkey: on average, the cost of training for them is about 200-500 dollars a year, if it is not a question of a doctor's qualification. In prestigious medical universities, this amount can grow to $ 5,000 a year, but in less well-known educational institutions of this direction it will already cost $ 2,000, and in very small towns the opportunity to become a doctor will become even more affordable - from $ 200 to $ 1,000 a year.

If a foreigner chooses a budget option for higher education in Turkey, then for admission it will be necessary to pass a special exam for foreigners, which is called Y Ouml;S. It consists of 80 questions divided into sections on mathematics, logic, geometry.To pass YÖS, you need to register in advance on the university's website and pay for the exam. It can be held at home at the embassies and consulates of Turkey, they take place up to 4 times every year, while it is possible to pass this process in English and Russian (YÖS  there are no tasks in Turkish).After passing the test, the results come to your personal account on the university's website.The minimum passing score to the University of Turkey for a bachelor's degree is 45-50 points. This score allows you to choose faculties and participate in the competition for foreigners, but much depends on the specific university, so it makes sense to check the requirements in advance.

Thus, admission to the university of Turkey does not require knowledge of the Turkish language, but you can't do without it, so a foreigner is immediately given one year of academic leave to study it. This can be done in any convenient format, but then you will have to additionally confirm your knowledge and pass a number of exams. The easiest and most proven option for a foreigner is to enroll in the Center for the Study of Turkish and Other Foreign Languages Tomer (Tömer), which has been operating since 1984 and functions as a department of Ankara University on the principle of the well-known British Council Goethe Institut. Its branches operate in Istanbul, Antalya, Alanya, Bursa, Izmir, Ankara, Kyzyl, Tunaly, Samsun and Trabzon.The cost of training for the whole year is $ 1200-1500. With a certificate of successful completion of the Turkish language course, you can safely go to start studying at a Turkish university. If a foreigner has modest wishes for a university and there is no opportunity to spend a year studying Turkish, then in the country you can find individual universities on the Black Sea that accept the average score of a school certificate.

Thank you for your help in preparing the material:

Elena Yunes, director of the company HomeInAlanya

Olesya Koralai, Director of the company ToInvestTurkey

Yulia Gayevskaya, sales specialist of the company VillaAntalya