The education system in Northern Cyprus
The opportunity to study in Northern Cyprus attracts not only local students, but also migrants from many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, who buy or rent property in this part of the island. As it is more affordable prices for education in comparison with the countries of Europe and the USA, but not less high quality of the received knowledge.
The peculiarity of local education is that after the 8th grade there is a distribution in 2 directions: technical and humanitarian. Technical direction includes such sciences as maths, physics, chemistry, biology. Humanities include geography, history, foreign language, etc.
The education system includes:
- Pre-school education;
- Primary school;
- Secondary school;
- Higher education
Preschool education. The format of preschool education is similar to CIS countries: preschoolers attend kindergartens, where they are grouped into groups according to their age. Gardens in Northern Cyprus are fee-paying, and English language learning is an obligatory part of the educational programme. The educational programme in such kindergartens, as a rule, includes the following aspects:
- ➡ Team adaptation;
- ➡ Teaching the basics of independence;
- ➡ Physical fitness;
- ➡ Gain knowledge and develop age-appropriate personal, intellectual, social, cultural and other skills.
Schools in Northern Cyprus are divided into public (free of charge) and private schools. Primary school education starts at the age of 5-6 and lasts for 5 years. Secondary school education takes place from 6th to 12th grade. In public schools, the teaching is in Turkish and English is learnt as a foreign language, then in secondary school some subjects are also taught in English.
In public schools, the language of instruction is more often English, and Turkish is studied additionally. Public schools also often offer a wider range of subjects, with an emphasis on arts, IT and other areas. Parents should not worry about the amount and quality of knowledge received by their children in public schools – these institutions in Northern Cyprus are certified by the Ministry of Education in order to meet high educational standards. The cost of a year’s education in public schools in Northern Cyprus is from 3 to 15 thousand euros.
Higher education (colleges, universities). Higher education institutions are widespread in Northern Cyprus and are represented not only by local universities, but also by branches of renowned world universities. The quality of education received in the universities of Northern Cyprus corresponds to the high educational standards of European countries and has international accreditation.
