Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees globally. The document discusses Turkey's response to facilitating refugees' access to higher education through various policies and programs. It outlines challenges such as lack of access and financial support for refugees seeking education. It also describes efforts by the Turkish government as well as international organizations like UNHCR, UNICEF, and NGOs to increase access through scholarships, language programs, and partnerships between universities. The cooperation between various stakeholders is seen as key to developing an effective education strategy to promote inclusion of refugees in Turkey's education system at all levels.

1. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018

2. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
Turkish Response to the Refugee Crisis
in Higher Education and International
Organizations
Prof. Dr. Celal Nazım İrem
Istanbul Aydın University
UNESCO Chair on Cultural Diplomacy, Governance and Education

3. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
CONTEXT:
The outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011 interrupted every facet of Syrian civilians’
lives.
The number of internally displaced Syrians is estimated at 6.5 million, while the
number of registered Syrian refugees regionally has risen to 4,806,762 people
(UNHCR, September 2016).
The influx of refugees over the past five years has overwhelmed the main host
countries of Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey and presented challenges for these states
in meeting the needs of the millions of refugees.

4. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
GEOGRAPHİC AND
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees globally,
with 2,992,000 registered refugees as of May 2017 (UNHCR,
2017).
64 percent of Syrians are residing in the metropolitan
centers of Istanbul and Ankara or large cities in the southeast
such as Antakya, Gaziantep, and Şanlıurfa as of 2015.
In 2015, about 36 percent of Syrians lived in 22 refugee
camps, and current numbers put 10 percent of refugees in 26
camps in 10 cities in the country. The Disaster and Emergency
Management Authority (AFAD) manages official refugee
camp.
The Syrian population under temporary protection in Turkey
is a relatively young population.
Half of the 2.7 million are in fact children

5. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
DEMOGRAPHY OF HIGHER
EDUCATION
• Higher Education for Syrian Refugees in Turkey Statistics about
enrollment of Syrian refugees in higher education before the war
show that an estimated 26 percent of Syrian urban men and
women, as well as 17 percent of rural men and 15 percent of
rural women, studied in college, at university, or had vocational
training (Fricke et al., 2014).
• Estimates from 2014 depict a plummet in the percentages of
Syrian students participating in higher education compared to
pre-war statistics.
• Of the students aged 18-24 and thus eligible for higher
education, a mere 17 percent of internally displaced Syrians
were enrolled; under 2 percent of refugees in Turkey; 8 percent
in Jordan; 6 percent in Lebanon; and 8 percent in Egypt
(Cremonini, Lorisika, Jalani, 2015)

6. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
• A more general estimate places the total
participation of Syrians aged 18-24 in higher
education at 20 percent before the war and less
than 5 percent in 2016 (EU Regional Trust Fund in
Response to the Syrian Crisis, 2016).

7. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
ADMISSION
• There are a few avenues through which Syrian students
can apply for admission to higher education institutions
in Turkey.
• Syrian refugees may apply to public and non-profit
foundation universities as regular international
students, though they are subject to public universities’
department quotas, or through government-funded
scholarship programs.
• All international students have to take the admissions
exam, Yabancı Uyruklu Öğrenci Sınavı (YÖS); however,
since 2010 each university has created its own version
of the test in the language of its choic

8. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
• Syrians under temporary protection were given the
option to be exempt from this exam and the right
to apply universities directly without an exam.
• This was implemented first at seven universities in
cities bordering Syria and then at all universities
across country.
• In 2014 the government announced that a total of
5,000 Türkiye scholarships would be given
specifically to Syrian students

9. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
• Moreover, the Turkish government has recognized
the Syrian Interim Government’s baccalaureate
exam, allowing Syrians to apply to higher education
institutions;
• however, the Interim Government has failed to
conduct the exam and award certificates in a timely
manner, barring Syrians from accessing higher
education (UNICEF, 2015).

10. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
MAJOR PROBLEMS IN CRISIS
SITUATION
• (1) Problem: access to higher education
• (2) Problem: scholarships and students’ financial situation
• 1) Full and sustainable scholarships
• 1a) Volunteering at universities
• 1b) Partnerships with private business
• 2) Clarity and transparency in scholarship application processes
• 3) Development of an online information platform on scholarships
• (3) Problem: academic concerns
• Accreditation system for diplomas
• Inclusion of Turkish academic language into language courses
• Preparatory courses for foreign students
• (4) Problem: social life and interaction
• Orientation events and buddy programs
• Integration at earlier stages
• Handbook for legal questions

11. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
HOW TO FACILITATE ACCESS TO
HIGHER EDUCATION
• 1) The introduction of a central application system
• 2) Transparency of the selection criteria
• 3) Information and consultancy on transferring from associate to
undergraduate degrees
• 4) Advocacy on visa concerns
• 5) Facilitating access to Turkish high schools
• 6) Online Education and Associate Degrees
• In addition to the four fields of challenges online education and
associate degree programs could become potential alterna- tives in
higher education.
• The cooperation between Istanbul Aydın University and KIRON, an NGO
providing open higher education courses, was given as a good example.
An online education program on business administration at Istanbul
University should also be mentioned.

12. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
STRATEGY REQUIRED
• Education education strategy centres on promoting
access of refugees to a broad continuum of educational
opportunities, ranging from formal education to higher
education and opportunities for adults to learn new
skills.
• Requirement:
• A core element of this strategy is to promote the
effective inclusion of refugees at all levels of the
national education system.
• The operationalization of this strategy require
collaboration of national and international agencies in
the sector.

13. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
TURKISH CASE, WHAT IS DONE?
• The Ministry of National Education (MoNE) is
responsible for ensuring access to formal and non-
formal education opportunities for refugees.
• All international organizations someway or another
need to work closely with MoNE in order to
disseminate information to refugees on available
educational opportunities, printing pamphlets and
including information on education in outreach
activities.

14. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
YÖK AND YTB
• Higher Education Council (YÖK) and the Presidency
for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB)
are two major national agencies responsible for
higer education
• YTB is a key partner in implementing higher
education programmes and works with
international organizations to offer higher
education preparation programmes for high school
graduates and to provide scholarships

15. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
OVERCOMING LANGUAGE
BARRIERS
• One of the most popular programs for providing
language training, the TÖMER program has been
established at universities in the provinces with
dense Syrian populations.

16. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT AND
COLLABORATION
• A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international NGOs
(INGOs) have sought to support Turkey’s efforts to provide for and integrate
Syrian refugees.
• Many groups have supplemented the Turkish government’s scholarships for
Syrian students with scholarships and grants.
• The UNHCR initially awarded 12 students in Turkey full scholarships through its
Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative (DAFI) (UNICEF, 2015),
which increased to 70 students the following year, and most recently to 750
students.
• Additionally, UNICEF aided over 2,000 students whom enrolled in Turkish
language courses at Ankara University through the Turkish and Foreign
Languages Research and Application Center of Ankara University (TÖMER)
program
• The Sampaio Foundation’s Global Platform for Syrian Students offers funding for
tuition and living costs for Syrian refugees, as do the Institute of International
Education and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

17. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT AND
COLLABORATION
• The government, particularly the DGMM, has
regulated the work of these NGOs.
• The Dutch INGO, SPARK, is among these nonprofit
actors having an impact on refugees’ lives through
support of education initiatives.
• It created the International Syrian University in
Exile (ISSUE), hosted by the University of Gaziantep,
and began offering summer and winter university
sessions

18. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
UNHCR CASE
• UNHCR and UNICEF are the education sector co-leads
for the preparation of the education chapter of the
Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan and together co-
lead the South East Turkey Education Working Group.
• UNHCR’s global scholarship programme, best known by
its DAFI acronym, was introduced in Turkey in 2014 and
has since grown into the largest programme in the
world. ,
• More than 820 refugee students have been awarded
DAFI scholarships since 2014 and 36 students have
already graduated.
• The programme is implemented in partnership with
YTB.

19. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
UNHCR CASE II
• UNHCR, working with key actors in the higher
education sector including the Higher Education
Council and YTB, convenes a higher education
working group that brings together different actors
that provide scholarships, disseminate information
on higher education opportunities and have
support or bridging programmes for students

20. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
HOPES
• Another international initiative addressing higher education
prospects of Syrian refugees in Turkey is the Higher and
Further Education Opportunities and Perspectives for
Syrians (HOPES) program.
• HOPES is a direct reaction to the Syrian crisis with the
objective of empowering young people from Syria to build
their own career paths by directly addressing their
education needs. Funded by the European Union’s Regional
Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis - The Madad
Fund - the project provides a wide range of educational
programs to Syrian refugees in host countries across Turkey,
Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.
• HOPES is implemented by the German Academic Exchange
Service (DAAD) in collaboration with its partners from
British Council, Campus France and EP-Nuffic.

21. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
SPARK
• A third international initiative in supporting Syrian refugees’ access to
higher education in Turkey is the SPARK fellowship program supported
by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To respond to the growing
demand for higher education, SPARK established its presence in Turkey
in 2012, running projects in Syria and supporting the Syrian community
in Turkey.
• SPARK scholarships provide student tuition fees, other allowances such
as local transportation, study materials, monthly stipend, might be
supported depending on the educational program. After organizing a
Summer University in 2013, SPARK continued to organize a Winter
University the year after. Together with the United Kingdom-based
Asfari foundation, SPARK set up the Gaziantep Youth Entrepreneurship
Programme to assist 100 students in setting up their own businesses. In
cooperation with Gaziantep University, SPARK also organized the 10
week Conflict Sensitive Project Cycle Management Summer Course for
50 Syrian students. Moreover, in cooperation with Gaziantep University,
SPARK set up multiple scholarship schemes for Syrians, supporting over
200 students so far.

22. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
• The Turkish case offers some unique practice
examples in terms of the ease in which degree
equivalency can be established, the way in which
the refugees are granted exceptions where no
entrance exam score is required (as opposed to
locals) and a very high number of domestic and
international scholarships offered to refugees.
• Therefore, mapping the higher education policies
targeting Syrian youth and exploring the
implementation of these policies is critical.
CONCLUSION

23. UNIMED General Assembly
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 25-26 October 2018
THANK YOU