Turkey is really a magical country, where there is a lot of sun, comfort and fresh fruit, because thousands of people come here – over the past year, about 40 thousand housing objects were purchased precisely for the purpose of citizenship. This year, this figure may grow to 50 thousand, that is, the demand is huge. However, some people forget that moving with children to another country is a very responsible decision. The educational institution should be selected in advance and today I will tell you about Turkish school education in detail.

General information about school education in Turkey

The education system in Turkey is divided according to the principle of 4x4x4. This means that from grades 1 to 4 there is elementary school, the next four grades are secondary school, the last is a four-year high school from grades 9 to 12. There are also anaokulu – preparatory groups for preschoolers, which are located directly at the school.

Another peculiarity is that high school in Turkey is specialized. A graduate of the 12th grade can not only enter the university, but also look for vacancies in working specialties, he will already have the appropriate qualifications. After the 8th grade, state testing is carried out, which will determine the specialization of the student, because starting from the 9th grade, students receive a technical education.

There are both public and private establishments in Turkey – the market in the country is very developed and offers parents a wide choice. I can’t give recommendations on which school you should choose, because only parents know what will be best for their children.

But I can share my rich experience – I have three children. The eldest daughter is already 16 years old and she studied in both public and private institutions. And I studied with her the intricacies of Turkish education. In addition, our agency helps with the search and registration of our clients’ children for school. It helped me dive into the field very deeply.

In general, private schools look preferable to public ones, but there are also many nuances. After numerous reforms, school education, including public education, has reached a very high level.

Much more important is not the type of school, but what parents strive for and who they see their children at the end of their studies. Because the Turkish system is very accentuated, specialization takes place at a fairly early stage of education, when not all the talents of a teenager have been revealed. Education should correspond to the talents of the child and the image of a successful person, which the parents have identified and to which the student will strive.

For example, in Turkey, they focus on the leadership qualities of the child and on business education, especially in private schools. That is, the main criterion for success is the graduate’s ability to navigate the economy and start a successful career or even his own business immediately after graduation, and, of course, make good money at the same time. But if you see your child as a scientist, researcher or IT specialist, then these business colleges are not suitable because There is an emphasis on applied sciences, not fundamental sciences.

The school itself should be chosen not in absentia, but by personally visiting the institution, looking at the condition of the premises and halls, the comfort of the environment and the novelty of the equipment, as well as the public whose children study there – prestige is one of the most important criteria when evaluating an institution. Separately, you need to pay attention to the dining room and the quality of food – it should be three times a day and varied.

Also, be sure to look at what the school can offer the child for leisure after school – various sections, circles, etc. After all, he may have to be there not only in the morning, but also in the evening, waiting for his parents to come home from work. Sports or dance sections are very useful here – for physical development, as well as something to stimulate creativity and strategic thinking – the chess section will help a lot with this. It is also very important to develop the skills of learning foreign languages right from an early age.

Private Schools: Best Institutions, Tuition Fees, and Risks

The undoubted advantage of all private schools in comparison with public ones is a personal approach to each student, training of personal qualities and self-confidence, creativity. As well as the best knowledge of foreign languages – in private schools, English is taught for 16 hours a week, and sometimes part of the curriculum is entirely in English. But without a foundation of knowledge in other areas, this will not be enough to succeed in the modern world.

However, one should not overestimate what can be taught even in the most expensive school. The child gets his character and “core” within the family. If mom and dad lay the idea that the child demanded a special attitude to himself based on the amount of money from his parents, showed selfishness, disrespect for others, then no school will correct him. The value of a person as a person and his culture of behavior is determined by family upbringing.

A properly selected school can only emphasize the personal qualities and talents of the child, and confirm that he is just “gold” with you. Conversely, a bad school, where they inflate grades in order to get more money from parents and praise undeservedly, supporting laziness – such education emphasizes only the worst features of the student.

Undeservedly high grades amuse the pride of parents, but in fact they do not give anything to the child and do not prepare him for real life, where the ability to communicate and respect for others without arrogance and claims is a very important advantage.

The right or wrong school in front of you can be understood by the reviews of other parents, as well as in relation to you – if teachers always agree with you in everything, if they are ready to inflate grades for money, then their learning effectiveness will not be high.

You also need to look at the ratings of academic performance and the results of city Olympiads – often “elite” and expensive schools do not have representatives at the Olympiads at all, because the grades are all “inflated” and students do not have real knowledge. Unfortunately, the real level of knowledge of the student is usually manifested too late – before entering the university.

Some schools, which have an insufficient level of teaching, often go to the trick – they lure the best students from other institutions, medalists and winners of Olympiads, offering tuition for free or at half price. Our daughter constantly receives such offers. There is real competition for the best, because it increases the brand of the school, which means it will be able to attract more wealthy parents.

There are several schools in Turkey where all subjects are taught at the level of the best institutions in Europe or the United States – proven by foreign testing. Such private schools can be counted on the fingers of one hand. I am a perfectionist by nature and I want my child to be the best in everything, so I devoted a lot of time to studying this issue and still found schools that can satisfy me in all respects.

Among the high school institutions (grades 9-12) and colleges, I can name the network “Robert College” and the TED school – they have branches in all major cities, including Istanbul and Antalya. Of the networks, there are still successful branches at TEK colleges, but not all of their departments are equally good. There is also a very strong school “Bilfen”. As you can see, these are either foreign schools or Turkish schools that have adapted American and European best learning experiences.

Although these educational institutions are private, that is, paid, but upon admission, the child undergoes a rather rigorous selection, passes entrance exams. The competition there is very high. Moreover, they constantly conduct internal testing, as well as take part in state exams. That is, control over the level of knowledge is carried out constantly. If the child does not cope, then they will simply expel him. No one will ingratiate themselves with their parents, no matter what money they have.

The estimated cost of tuition in a good private school is 45-60 thousand liras per year (5-7 thousand US dollars). And that’s just the basic cost of tuition. But you still need to buy a uniform and textbooks, pay for food and other additional services, of which there can be a lot in private schools. At school, the child is most often until 17:00. The training system is five-day, but on Saturday they can invite those students who need to pull up a subject. Plus, a good school has a lot of sections and circles – from the same chess to elite equestrian sports.

Public Education: Fundamental Approach, Tight Control, and Weak English

A state or municipal secondary school is a classic familiar school, where there are no frills, but the level of education is still mostly decent because. There are high standards of state assessment. There you will not find exquisite desks and classrooms decorated by designers, the most expensive equipment and a variety of healthy food in the dining room. Also, there is unlikely to be a high level of English language teaching.

However, such education is free and at the same time fundamental – the child will receive high-quality knowledge in all sciences, for which the school is needed. And the service with the design of classes actually loses only to elite schools – against the background of most post-Soviet schools, the difference is very noticeable. But after all, the school is not a hotel – the level of knowledge that a student can get is more important there, and not the level of comfort. The level of preparation of a good public school can only be compared with the most expensive private ones, where constant testing is carried out.

However, be prepared to hire tutors in some subjects. Most often it is algebra, chemistry, physics, etc. Otherwise, it will be difficult for your child to enter a good university with a serious selection system, regardless of whether you have a private school or a public one. In the state, most likely, you will have to hire a tutor in a foreign language and, possibly, in narrow areas that are required by specialized universities – for example, jurisprudence. And in private – in mathematical and natural sciences.

But the issue of tutoring is more relevant for middle and high school, in junior it is better to focus on the physical and mental development of the child. In Turkey, after the 8th grade, they conduct optional state testing, where they enroll voluntarily. This is a very good indicator of a student’s knowledge. If he scores 90 points out of 100 (Turkey has a hundred-point grading system), then everything is fine, and if not, then it’s time to look for a tutor. Also, after the 8th grade, Olympiads are held, where students are allowed to prove themselves.

In Turkey, there are not only ordinary schools, but also state lyceums, where the level of teaching is an order of magnitude higher. They are accepted there after successfully passing exams in the 8th grade. Usually, a lyceum is a school with in-depth study of fundamental sciences such as algebra, physics, chemistry, etc. They are called “Fen Licesi” and are open in all major cities. They also have their own hierarchy – some higher, others lower in the level of teaching and prestige.

At the same time, those children who, due to not the best results, remain in a regular general education school, receive not only basic secondary education, but also profiling, which I spoke about at the beginning of the article. After graduating from school, they will be able to work as electricians, plumbers and other working specialties – they will be taught this right at school.

With a basic education, it will be difficult to enroll in a prestigious university, even with tutors. Since the distribution takes place after the 8th grade, it turns out that the most important period for the student is secondary school – from the 5th to the 8th grade. It is then that his fate is decided, and here it is very important to find a good tutor or choose another school, of a higher level. From grades 9 to 12, the child is already determined with the university in the direction that he chose earlier, in the 8th grade, and it will be very difficult to change the vector of development.

Features of education for foreigners

For families with children, moving to another country becomes a very difficult decision. The process of adaptation is much easier in young children – in preschoolers. A little more difficult, but still almost painlessly, a junior school student can enter a new environment with a different language and mentality – from 1 to 4. For older children, this will be more difficult and this must be taken into account when moving in advance.

The most difficult thing is entering the 9th grade. In Turkey, it is accepted only after the state exam, which is taken in the 8th grade. If your child has not passed it, then, accordingly, the range of institutions where he can be accepted will be very narrowed. This does not mean that it will not be accepted anywhere at all, but the level of these institutions is unlikely to suit you – these will be vocational education institutions or private colleges of not the best reputation. There are also schools with a bias towards Islam, but this is a separate category.

To simplify adaptation in Turkey, there are special preparatory groups for foreigners where Turkish is taught. And in Turkey, 95% of teaching takes place in Turkish – without knowledge of the language it will be extremely difficult to get a quality education here. The child simply will not understand anything in the lesson. Moreover, most schools simply will not accept a child without knowledge of the language if he is older than grade 4.

In network foreign institutions, there may be a situation where 60% of the time children are taught in European languages (English, German, French), and the remaining 40% in Turkish. But this is only found in the most expensive private colleges and almost all of them are located in Istanbul.

I would like to note that both private and public schools willingly accept foreigners who speak Turkish. However, not all of them equally help with the adaptation of the student in a foreign language environment. In private schools, the approach is, of course, better. Therefore, the nok should resemble good Turkish language courses for at least three months in his homeland or upon arrival in Turkey by the Rebbe.

There are a lot of courses, including state ones, but they are less effective because. The program there is longer and less practice. Tomer courses, which are available not only in Turkey, but also in the CIS countries, have shown themselves best. They have 5 levels of intensive training, each level lasts 1 month. Those who have successfully completed Level 5 can even work with Turks, for example, in international companies – these courses are suitable not only for teenagers, but also for adults.

But the status of a foreigner also has its advantages. True, they appear already upon admission to the university – for applicants with foreign citizenship, the admission system is simpler than for Turkish citizens. Some Turkish parents even specially apply for a second citizenship for their children in order to receive these benefits.

Inference

The school system in Turkey is actively changing – all the time for the better. Private and public institutions are increasingly adopting the best Western teaching approaches, every year improving the quality of knowledge among citizens of the country and those who receive citizenship. Education for children of foreigners is also not a hopeless matter, the system is established. Although the adaptation process cannot be called simple – it depends more on the age of the child and on the preparation that his parents provided him before moving.

But the main thing I can say, based on personal experience and the experience of my children, is that moving to generous Turkey is worth all the trouble. Because the country is developing rapidly, becoming richer and more successful, like each of its residents. Turkish school education not only provides good knowledge, but also opens the way for graduates to the best universities in the world – provided that the student himself and his parents strive for this. But even if they don’t, profiling and a focus on practical skills – including in business – will ensure your child has a successful and prosperous future.

Also, in conclusion, I note that we help all our clients with the choice of school for free – this is part of our package of after-sales support services. Your children become a little bit ours, so we help with all the zeal and sincere desire to provide the best possible. Each client is not just a friend for us, but a member of our big friendly family of Expert Property!

Yours Tatiana Güneş