YTB President Eren highlighted the great importance of “Türkiye Scholarships” as a model of reducing social inequality, and said “We offer scholarships to thousands of successful students from disadvantageous countries and graduate them”.

“Higher Education for Students under International Protection Conference” was held with the collaboration of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), UNHCR Turkey, TRT World Research Centre and TRT World Citizen.

President of YTB, Abdullah Eren, in his opening remarks stated that they have created a brand under the name of “Türkiye Scholarships” since 2011 and that they host and provide scholarships to students from very diverse countries of the world in Turkey. President Eren said, “Now, students from more than 170 countries are receiving education in Turkey with the scholarships our state offers. There are 16 thousand students from 170 countries in Turkey.” Eren stated that for the past eight years Turkey conducted a very successful humanitarian work for those who took refuge in the country, and reminded that the international peers commended Turkey for these actions.

Eren, drawing attention to the fact that Turkey’s efforts regarding the higher education of students from Syria and those under international protection and in touching every moment of their lives are very professional, noted, “All of the institutions of Turkey are spending a really serious effort in a very professional manner. Yet, these are ominous issues. Even if you do your work good, they will find something lacking; if you don’t you are accused of not taking care of refugees. I have to speak openly, the unjust criticisms that Turkey has received recently from sources domestic and abroad, basically will find their answers here, in this activity that we will do. Within the framework of Türkiye Scholarships, we provide scholarship opportunities to so many students through both UNHCR and EU funds. Moreover, while there is one percent university attendance of refugees, Turkey is breaking a record in this field with six percent.”

Katharina Lumpp, UNHCR Representative in Turkey, stating that the educational level of those under temporary protection in Turkey is at a good rate, said, “There is awareness in Turkey for enabling young refugees to have access to higher education and to become role models. Regarding this issue, there are different supports for refugees under temporary protection. Of course, there are different stakeholders on the scene for enabling refugees in Turkey to receive higher education. Six percent of Syrians between the ages of 18 – 24 generally continue their education.”

Chief Editor of TRT World Serdar Karagöz, expressed that as a channel, they do not just tell stories of the refugees, but also allow them to tell their own stories, and said, “In this manner, we train the youth in refugee camps in journalism. Media institutions in general seek ratings and sensation. As TRT, we stand apart, and being aware of our responsibilities, we think ‘Can we be a part of the solution? Ratings are important for us too, but can we use the power of media in providing solutions to the problems?’ Thereby, telling to the world all of these stories whether they be about refugees or people outcast from their countries is among our priorities”.

 “We have developed three models regarding Syrian students”

Following the opening remarks, the conference continued with the “Speeches of the Main Actors.” In his speech in this section, President of YTB Eren underlined that “Türkiye Scholarships” are very important model to bring down social inequality, and added that “When we speak of reducing social inequality, we actually provide scholarships to thousands of successful students from the disadvantageous countries of the world and graduate them.”

Eren highlighted that their priorities are the countries that speak Turkish and the regions in which Turkmens are predominant, and that they provide scholarships to students living there. Mentioning about the migrations from Syria beginning with the civil war, Eren explained that Turkey has hosted Syrians with its “open door policy,” in a manner that no other country in the world can match. Stating that for 8 years, all Syrian students have been provided with education opportunities in primary, secondary, high school and higher education, Eren said that the university fees of both Syrians and the students under international protection are covered by YTB.

Drawing attention to the current “lost generation” problem, Eren continued his words as follows: “We thought ‘How can we implement this scholarship program for Syrians in a way to prevent a lost generation’ and developed three models: First one is covering the university fees of Syrians that attend a university. The second is providing scholarships to Syrian students within the scope of ‘Türkiye Scholarships’. The third one is the collaborations entered into with the different funds of UNHCR and EU and we have two separate methods in this. First, we provide an advanced level of Turkish language education. Until now, 20 thousand students have graduated from advanced Turkish language education programs. The second one is providing scholarships to students attending universities. Until now, through the funds of EU, nearly a thousand and two hundred students received higher education scholarships.”

Abdullah Eren explained that with its operations, Turkey has created a secure zone in the northern regions of Syria, and in that zone health, social and educational services are present.