In the context of our talk about private schools in Turkey, trying to inform you of all the details related to this topic. We would like to share with you the full experience of a mother registering her children in one of the private schools in Turkey, and the required documents.
We will be mentioning in this article the challenges and difficulties she faced, in addition to providing some advice to overcome the challenges of the first stage of registration in private schools in Turkey.
The beginning of private schools in Turkey EXPERIENCE:
The mother says: “When we came to Turkey, we looked for all available options for educating our children, as they are still in the elementary school. We found that the “private schools in Turkey” option is suitable for us, in terms of tuition fees and other reasons.”
You can also check this article 3 IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN TURKEY
So, we went to register at the closest private school to our home. All we needed was:
- Child birth certificates sealed by our country, and notarized.
- Our passports and our children’s passports.
- Child residency, or proof that you submitted a residence permit,
(We did not receive the residencies yet, so the children were registered as guests).
- The lease contract and proof of housing, in the municipality that you have registered your names in after making the lease contract and confirming the number of residents in it.
- Finally, certificates of previous years of study in your country of origin,
(There was no verification of the certificates, and they were not sealed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or something like that. Perhaps it’s due to their grades, being in primary school).
- As for my son, who enrolled in the first year of primary school, it wasn’t required to bring certificates for the (kg) grade, or in another term pre-schooler certificates.
After the registration admission:
The school principal told us that we have to wait until we receive an official letter from the Education Directorate, mentioning that our children have been accepted as guests at the school until we receive the residency, and indeed we waited about a week for the letter that told us that our request was accepted, and that our children can go to school.
We went to the school and they set them in their classes, they also informed us about the places where school uniforms are available (It’s usually in libraries near the school).
The next day my children went to school and received the textbooks immediately, although there was some shortage in some of the books, and their journey studying in the Turkish language began.
- And for each of the classes there is a WhatsApp group to communicate with parents, and inform them of homework and important notes.
Stage difficulty:
Each stage in life has its challenges, this stage of trying to integrate into a new society whose language you do not master. It’s a stage that needs patience and endurance in order to reach your goals.
Difficulties began to appear from the first day, As the children could not communicate with their teacher only through signs and some simple words that they learned before going to school. However, the school used to organize special classes for foreign students, teaching them the principles of the Turkish language, which helped them a lot in terms of the speed of fitting in with their colleagues. It took some patience and a lot of effort at home until the children began to acquire the language well. This was done during the first year of their studies, as in the second year they started speaking with their classmates fluently (to the level that children needed to play and fit in).
Academic level:
Their academic level began to improve significantly in the second year studying in private schools in Turkey, and I began to notice this improvement with great joy. After a lot of effort during the first year of translation and language courses, we started to see positive results. They can now rely on themselves to do most of their homework, although they still need some help and some translation in the Turkish language subject in particular.
Some tips for parents with children in private schools in Turkey:
I want to give you some advice based on my experience:
- Take it easy and take it slow; Don’t rush the results of the children’s improvement.
- If your children can take some private Turkish language lessons, this will help them improve faster and fit in school.
- Encourage your children to socialize and play with the children of the Turkish neighbours, so they can learn faster.
- When they successfully pass the first grade, I recommend you look for centers to teach them your mother language, in order to preserve it. As parents (after several years) notice the poor level of their mother language among their children.
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