Crisis encourages education

Professor Ahmet Serpil, rector of Yeditepe University, said budgets for education increase everywhere in the world in times of crisis.

“Although families suffer in times of crisis, they do not cut the budget for their children’s education. Education is perceived as the last item to retrench from. Of course, there are difficulties in making the payments but they see education as a must for finding a job with good conditions,” said Serpil, adding that the applications for post graduate courses this February increased by 20 percent compared to February 2008 and university graduates that want to do their doctorates increased 6 percent. Serpil also said that since high school education was extended to four years in 2008, some students could not begin their college education and registered at private teaching institutions, which in turn brought up to 3 percent growth in the sector.

Students on scholarships will increase

Professor Enar Tunc, assistant rector at Kadir Has University, said parents of students studying at private schools are having a hard time paying for their educations and even those who send their children to state schools are having difficulties. He said there are students who are leaving foundation universities but at the same time there are new investments in the sector.

Tunc said although the sector is troubled due to the crisis, many new private foundations and state universities are being opened. “It is the same in America, too. You invest in education during economic crises. People think ‘since I cannot find a job, let me improve myself’ and education costs increase in every crisis,” Tunc said, adding that foundation universities are not going to reduce their tuition fees in the following period but there will also be no increases and the quota for scholarship students will increase by 25 to 50 percent.

Students being called back from abroad  �

Tunc said after the euro and the U.S. dollar increased in value against the Turkish Lira, families who sent their children to study abroad have been calling them back. “The dollar has risen from 1.20 to 1.70 liras, which has increased the costs of studying abroad by 40 percent,” Tunç said.

Those afraid of losing their jobs are also seeking education

People with jobs who live in fear of losing them are also seeking special training to improve themselves. Sibel Erentay, director of Academy Istanbul, a special institution for high school graduates that offers training according to the needs of industries, said they have started to open special courses for people with active jobs due to high demand. Erentay said, in this time of crisis, alongside the 100 percent increase in applications from high school graduates, applications from middle-aged people for job specialization have increased to a level not experienced before. “Even some teachers and engineers are putting their diplomas aside and getting education from us as if they have just finished high school. The fear of unemployment is sky high among recent graduates. Our quota for 2010 is full already,” Erentay said.

Institutive education from BSF

Firdevs Macit, director of BSF Academy, said especially this year they are going for institutive education. “There are around 900 industrial corporations at the Keresteciler Compound we have just moved to. We are aiming to offer institutive education to 150 of them,” Macit said, adding that this form of education will feature graphics, computer and linguistic skills.

Burak Kurtuldu, owner of Plus Academy in Ankara, said there has been a boom in demand for certificate programs since the crisis. “There is a high demand for career training but the prices are causing the students difficulties,” Kurtuldu said. He said because career training programs are available only in a few cities, many people form different parts of Anatolia are not able to use them. Therefore they have started online certificate programs through the Internet, which are 90 percent cheaper than the classic method.

328 students drop out of Usak University due to financial difficulties

Professor Adnan Sisman, rector of Usak University, said the economic crisis is proving tough on students and in the second half of the academic year 328 students were unable to continue their education at the university. “Seven hundred of our students could not matriculate. We had extended the process but despite all efforts, 328 of them could not continue,” he said. Sisman said Uşak University houses 8,000 students and the picture would be uglier in bigger universities. Sisman also said some families could not even afford 250 liras per month, which is the approximate minimum cost of living for a student in Usak.