Turkey

The Republic of Turkey or Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), is a bicontinental country that is located mainly in the Middle East (Southwest Asia) and partly in Southeast Europe; The Anatolian peninsula comprises most(97%) of its territory, and is situated between the Black Sea on the north and the Mediterranean Sea to south and west, with the Aegean Sea (and Marmara Sea) in between. A small portion of the country's territory (3%) is situated in southeastern Europe, west of the Bosphorus straits.

Education and Employment

Education is compulsory and free from age 6 to 14. There are around 820 higher education institutes including universities, with total student enrollment of over 1 million. The 15 main universities are in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Tertiary education is the responsibility of Higher Education Council, and funding is provided by the state. From 1998 the universities were given greater autonomy, and were encouraged to raise funds from partnerships with industry.

Related Topics:
Istanbul - Ankara - Izmir

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There are approximately 85 universities in Turkey. There are two types of universities, state and (private) foundational. State universities charge very low fees and foundationals are highly expensive with fees that can climb to 15.000$ or sometimes even more. The capacity in total of Turkish universities is approximately 300.000. Some universities can even compete with the best world universities whereas some are unable to provide the necessary educational standards due to financial problems and underfunding. However, university students are a lucky minority in Turkey. Universities provide either two or four years of education for undergraduate studies. For graduate studies, two further years is necessary, as is typical throughout the world.

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The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey coordinates basic and applied research and development. There are 64 research institutes and organisations. R&D strengths include agriculture, forestry, health, biotechnology, nuclear technologies, minerals, materials, IT, and defence.

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Labour force is flexible, with a wide spectrum of skills from the unskilled to highly educated. Turkey is obliged to apply EU employment and social laws to qualify for membership.

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See also:

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• Turkish education system
• List of high schools in Turkey
• List of universities in Turkey
• ÖSS