Moving to another country, even as hospitable and sunny as Turkey, is always stressful.
Moving with school-age children is doubly stressful.
You will somehow need to organise their remote learning, sort out certification issues, and, just as importantly, help with their adaptation to their new environment.
By uprooting your child from a familiar environment, you've taken away their school friends and beloved teachers, basically, everything that helped them with their studies. Now, you face a significant task to get the process back on track from scratch.
But there's no need to fret or anticipate difficulties — children adapt to changes quickly, and in Turkey, they'll have all the necessary conditions for comfortable learning.
Let's discuss how online education is organised in the country, where to start arranging the educational process, important considerations, and where you can lay the groundwork in advance.
Our article is meant for those who see no sense in enrolling their children in Turkish schools, and wish for them to continue studying in their native language.
A brief on Turkish schools: Things to know
In Turkey, homeschooling isn't an option, and online formats aren't provisioned for Turkish children — a child can only attend school in person unless health issues prevent this.
Education in state schools is conducted in the Turkish language, it's free and mandatory for all citizens.
There are also private schools in the country, including international ones. There are many online educational institutions, ranging from comparatively inexpensive ones costing from €4,000 a year to elite institutions where tuition is over €20,000 a year. Every parent chooses a school depending on the child's needs and their capabilities.
To enrol in a state school, a child doesn't necessarily have to have Turkish citizenship, a residence permit is sufficient.
Meanwhile, citizens of other countries aren't required to inform the Ministry of Education if their children attend foreign schools or study at home, and there's also no need to register at a local school after you relocate.
So, the first step: Choosing the format of education
You need to decide whether your child will stay in their current school, or if you will search for a new educational institution for them.
Another option is to homeschool your children and hire tutors as needed.
Either way, the first thing to do is to discuss your plans with the administration at your current school — find out if there's an option to continue education from abroad, how interim and final certification would be managed.
They might suggest suitable solutions, and you won't have to de-enrol your child.
Permissible forms of education are stipulated in the laws of your home country. These may include homeschooling, blended learning, and distance learning.
With homeschooling, the child isn't officially enrolled in school, the responsibility for his/her education lies with the parents, who also choose the curriculum.
In this case, there's no need for interim assessments, and studies can be independently conducted or with the help of tutors.
Please note, after your child is withdrawn from school, you will have 15 days to inform local authorities that your child is now studying at home.
And not all schools accept applications via email, so you might still need to visit the school before leaving.
Part-time learning is a format where the child attends some of the lessons. For example, you can go to school for maths or biology lessons, and study the rest of the subjects using video tutorials or textbooks.
School attendance will be required for exams and other mandatory tests. For those who have moved to Turkey for a long time, this format is not suitable.
Distance learning is not available in all schools - some establishments do not have the capability to work with children in such a format, and this is stated in their charter.
Distance learners study at home, but under the same program as the class, and can take tests and write exams remotely, while the procedure and terms for submitting work should be specified in the contract with the school.
So, in most cases parents of school children have to choose between remote and home education. That means the child will either be attached to a school or not.
The school can be either state or private.
In Ukraine, for example, distance learning is carried out by the International Ukrainian School (children living abroad can study there for free), as well as numerous private schools. Certification in Ukraine is mandatory every year, starting from the first class.
And Russian students can study abroad at the "Foxford" school, at the "Online Gymnasium No. 1" and ten other accredited schools.
The actual accreditation of the school (i.e. having a state license for educational activities) is not mandatory, you can choose any online platform that appeals to you and seems familiar.
But be sure to find out how final certification is organized at such a school. Until the ninth grade, students of Russian schools who are home-schooled do not have to be certified.
The online learning process varies everywhere.
- Some schools completely give the process to parents - only tests are required from children a couple of times a year.
- In other schools, students are required to attend online classes - such an education differs little from the usual, except that instead of a class, the child sits in their room and looks not at a board, but at a laptop screen.
Many schools practice something in between: students are offered to connect to lectures or practical classes two-three times a week.
Here, you'll need to rely on what is more convenient for you and on your child's character – some easily establish a routine and find time to study in it, some do better with a clear schedule, i.e., classes from 08.00 to 13.00.
Step two: certification
You've determined the learning format, but what about exams?
Everything depends, again, on the laws of the country whose citizenship the student holds.
Russian students, for example, can take exams (OGE, EGE) only in accredited educational establishments.
In instances like these, they would be able to achieve a government standard diploma and apply to a Russian university. Many private schools have accreditation, and even certain online platforms without accreditation attach their students to their accredited partners as external students.
Upon the results of ZNO (NMT), Unified State Examination (USE), ORT, UNT and other final exams, you can get admitted to some Turkish universities (but not the most prestigious ones). For many universities, you need to take special YÖS or SAT exams.
Step three: We look for socialisation opportunities
So, you have found a school for your child, hired tutors, stocked up on textbooks and valerian (just kidding), now the only thing left is to help him socialize.
To do this, they need to interact with peers - this isn't too difficult to find in some Turkish cities. For instance, there are co-working spaces. Yes, the idea of getting together and doing something useful isn't new, but in Turkey, it has been actively developed in terms of child socialisation.
How does it work?
Children of approximately the same age (and speaking the same language) come to a café or another rented space, where they can play, engage in creative activities, communicate, study a foreign language together, or something else.
It's not a school, there are no marks, compulsory assignments or textbooks. However, the opportunity to find friends, which are often lacking in a foreign country, is present.
Another quick way to socialise your child in a new place is to enrol him in a sports section.
For instance, in Antalya, several sports clubs with coaches from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and other countries have emerged over the past few years.
The choice of sports is impressive, finding something suitable considering your child's interests, abilities and character will not be a problem: chess, tennis, swimming, eastern martial arts, football or something else could be chosen.
Sharing a hobby brings children together so much that they quickly become friends, starting to communicate even outside the sports section.
Many clubs encourage parents to participate in training, this approach helps adults expand their circle of acquaintances.
Competitions, where mothers and fathers gather to cheer for their children, altogether turn everyone involved in the common cause into one big family.
Attending events organized by the Russian, Ukrainian, and other societies for their fellow citizens will be no less beneficial for socialisation. These include picnics, concerts, combined trips, workshops.
Step four: We choose extra courses
If you notice that your child easily copes with the curriculum and has a lot of free time, you might consider additional courses.
Such courses may also be useful for those who need to improve their knowledge in certain subjects or prepare for exams.
The most successful format of extra education is summer camps at international schools.
Children spend the first half of the day at sea or on excursions, while in the second half, they study the Turkish or English language with native speakers, programming or something else useful.
Such a holiday is also good insofar as it combines learning with socialisation.
If a face-to-face format doesn't suit you, consider online learning – there are many tutors in Turkey ready to prepare children for Unified State Exam (USE) in Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Kazakh languages, and also for YÖS and SAT - exams that allow entrance to local universities.
Turkish language courses are also popular, as if you’re planning to live in the country for the next few years, it would be beneficial for your child to at least learn the basics.
We'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have, please don't hesitate to contact us on Whatsapp +90 (532) 158 42 44.
If you want to move permanently or buy a flat in Turkey and enjoy life by the sea, reach out to our specialists who can select the best options to fit your budget.
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