Getting enrolled in a University in northern Cyprus
Sharing my experiences and suggestions on how to fix it.
I am an MBA student in a lesser known part of the world called the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC). For those who have never visited, it is one of two states on the island of Cyprus, located in the Eastern Mediterranean. Some days ago, I sat in the office of one of the media houses in the TRNC. We talked about a lot of things but there was one question that was asked: “How are international students enrolled in the universities across the Island?” The person asking me wanted to know how international students were catered for and managed on the Island. This article attempts to shed some light on the challenges of the process and how these issues can be managed better for International students.
This article will be a little long (I apologize in advance for this) but it is important that we breakdown the process so it is easier to pinpoint appropriate solutions to this challenge. Also, for this article, we are travelling down to an international student’s home country (which range from over 80 countries and account for close to 50,000 students in the TRNC outside Turkish and Turkish Cypriot students so feel free to pick one). This article is also important because there is a perception that international students are merely taking advantage of and putting undue pressure on the Island infrastructure when in reality, the opposite is true. International students account for nearly 25% of the population (Over 100,000 students with more that 40% coming from over 80 countries outside Turkey). Research also shows that international students are less likely to get scholarships or where they do in the TRNC, it is withdrawn without warning and/or notice. International students also pay at least 20% more in fees than Turkish Cypriots or Turkish students. It is also important to highlight that higher education contributes 20% of total GDP in the TRNC; the second largest amount behind tourism. Given the economic fallout due to the pandemic, it is safe to say that the amount contributed by higher education could surpass income from tourism this year.
For this article, we are travelling down to an international student’s home country (which range from over 80 countries across the world including Nigeria so feel free to pick one). While there are a lot of issues affecting international students on the island, not all originate from the island itself. A lot of the issues are aggravated and amplified by the poor state of affairs on the Island but actually start from the home country of the international student. So, I am going to ask you to become an international student for the rest of this article. Let’s begin.
You are far more likely to hear about the TRNC from a friend or an “agent” than you are to see an Ad online or a brochure or a flyer. This friend or “agent” will be promising “cheap” school fees in a university in Europe. Universities in the TRNC typically use students (I mean literally anybody and everybody) enrolled in their schools as a marketing option to keep enrollments coming in year after year from their home countries in exchange for commissions. A lot of universities dont have structured process of hiring and managing this “agents” or have an actual number or record of who these people are. (These are the people we will call “agent” for the rest of this article). A prudent but also very dangerous strategy that has put several thousand lives at risk over the last 5 years due to how it has been implemented and managed. VOIS Cyprus (an NGO for international students) has repeatedly attempted to engage the government, several stakeholders and universities on this issue but beyond a few words of sympathy, nothing really has been done. So, the problem persists.
Back to you, you investigate and start asking questions about the TRNC. The “agent” tells you about this beautiful island with cheap fees whose universities who have work-study programs so you can get a job while in school and finally, about the low cost of living. Compared to what you might have been told about the United States, Canada and so other countries, this sounds like a dream, you might even say “too good to be true”.
Now, not all students take the time to verify a lot of these claims but you are diligent and intelligent. You want to do your research so you attempt to reach the universities mentioned in the flyer or by the agent online: via email and social media. The first shock hits you: A lot of the universities claim to host and be welcoming to international students but most of their communication on social media is in Turkish. No worries, google translate to the rescue, right? Then, you realize that the bulk of the information online doesn’t actually answer a lot of the questions you have. So, you send an email and wait for a response from the school endlessly. The response never arrives.
Then you attempt to check google but the pages are littered with stories about the deaths of Nigerian students on the Island, some of which are even false according to your agent and he/she is right. Then, you check foreign affairs ministry and the immigration website but still none of them are able to provide up to date and relevant information to the questions you have. So, you turn back to your “agent” and it is clear that he/she is now your only source of information about the TRNC.
Your “agent” paints your head with pictures and stories, maybe even sends you pictures and some videos and you start to fall in love with the Island. What you don’t realize is that your agent is doing all this (including lying and manipulating) to ensure that you come over to the island so that he/she can be paid a commission from his/her host university.
Now, you are hooked on the cool-aid that is the well-seasoned blend of truth and deception from the admission agent, you pay your fees and begin to process your visa and travel documents. (It is important to clarify this: The TRNC still remains one of the most affordable tuition regimes for international students globally and while this is true, what most international students are told by these “agents” is merely the initial deposit (30–50%) of their fees not the full amount. So, the fees appear even more affordable than they really are).
Your “agent” convinces you to pay for a dormitory (again, not because it is a better option to a regular apartment but because his/her commission increases dramatically if you do) and you don’t realize that the dorms in a lot of universities are in very poor state regardless of how much you paid. In some universities, the accounting and invoicing is so opaque and poor that some people are billed twice, hidden charges abound, others get mysterious deductions without refunds, some lose scholarships overnight without notice, others never get refunds even where they qualify for them and there are terms and conditions that are not even mentioned until much later. Of course, you don’t realize any of this until you arrive so reality isn’t going to hit yet. Also, because of these issues, your agent convinces you not to pay your full fees to ensure you are not over-billed and the truth is; they are right.
After you pay your fees, you notice a clause on your receipt. (This would be the very first time you are introduced to how things work on the island for international students. Terms and conditions never show up until you have either signed up, paid or signed documents instead of the other way around). The clause says you are entitled to a refund on your fees if you can prove to the school that your visa application was denied. Due to the international status of the TRNC, you will need to fly via Istanbul and hence the need to apply for a Turkish visa. The Turkish Embassy (I can speak for the one in Nigeria) typically does not send documents or proof that your application was denied. Your visa application is also far more likely to be denied if you haven’t paid your fees before applying for the visa but the visa is also not guaranteed even if your fees are fully paid.
Assuming all goes well and your visa comes through, you pay your “agent” his/her own fees (outside what the university is already paying), of course, you don’t know this yet. You will be advised to fly Turkish airlines even though there are more affordable options because they are the most likely to get you to the TRNC. So, you put up with their horrible and sometimes racist customer service in spite of paying premium airfares.
Let’s recap a few things: you think you have finished paying your fees (you haven’t), you assume you can/ will get a job, (there are mostly no jobs, where they are, the employers mostly want to exploit you, working conditions/ hours don’t align with your school schedule, you sometimes have to choose between classes and work) and you assume the cost of living is low. Well, it is except that accommodation is through the roof compared to your income, rent is sometimes collected in foreign exchange and some landlords are either looking to exploit you and/or not rent to you at all. Did I mention that “agents” also collect a commission from you equal to the cost of the rent? Yea, that and your deposit(s) collected by the landlord will only be refunded (whether in full or in part) at the landlord’s discretion even if everything is exactly the same way in the apartment when you move in. (In retaliation, some international students deliberately damage properties since the landlord refuses to refund their deposits and landlords in-turn stop renting to international students creating a never-ending cycle).
On top of all of this, you really have no idea how things work on the Island, your rights as an international student and/or the position of the TRNC constitution as it affects international students. So, you are stuck. You cannot afford decent accommodation, you cannot afford a flight ticket back home, you cannot afford the rest of your fees which also means you cannot get your resident permit done, all the money you’ve spent is now gone, the little you have left is barely enough and your agent is nowhere to be found, off to recruit the next set of international students. Perhaps, you too figure it as well to join the league of “agents” and concoct your own blend of lies and truths to get other students to come down to earn commissions to sustain you.
Well, congratulations, you are now an international student in the TRNC. Ensure to join VOIS Cyprus because you will need them to survive on the Island, maybe even sooner than you think. Welcome to the TRNC.
Now, what do I think is a solution to these things?
As a government;
Now, what do I think is a solution to these things?
1. International Diplomacy:
As President Ersin Tatar attempts to overturn the embargo and sanctions to give the TRNC her place in the league of nations internationally, it will be important for the TRNC to begin to harmonize and foster healthy alliances by adopting friendlier policies towards the international students in the country such that a favorable vote and assistance from the home countries of the international students would be a next logical step.
2. A cooperation for Information and Enrolments:
An agreement between the Turkish government via the foreign affairs ministry and the embassy, the Turkish airlines and universities in the TRNC, the TRNC foreign affairs ministry and the TRNC immigration can easily solve that catch-22 situation. Also, all information (Like fees, payment options, accommodation, working conditions, minimum wage and so on) must be presented in English language in a publicly assessable site, similar to how information of websites of embassies are presented globally. This cooperation also ensures an automatic visa issuance if a student can show proof of fee payment from the university in TRNC as is done in The Netherlands.
3. A Technical committee
The admissions team of each university can be mandated to initiate a direct call with the intending student at least 48 hours after applying to the school to meet the student via a video and/or phone call, orientate them about the school, the country and all that they should know, providing relevant reading materials and being available for further questions before they even for anything or leave their home country. So, the student is assured that the information given is correct and not at the mercy of any “agent”. TRNC’s university system of using “agents” can solve this problem if the agents are filtered, vetted and standardized with a way of ensuring compliance. A technical committee comprising of all the parties above including representatives of the students; VOIS Cyprus is a great way to get this started.
4. Housing:
International students are more likely to rent from places recommended by other international students and universities are less likely to work with realtors because they need their dormitories filled. The TRNC government can ensure via a policy that all accommodation (whether dormitories or apartments) is up to a decent standard (approved by the government) before being put on the market for rent with checks for compliance. Secondly, that the realtors in the TRNC work with international students under clear, fair and well-defined agreements under a housing law backed by the government. This removes the commissions charged by the student agents are removed as they are now paid from the commission charged by the realtors and the deposits paid by international students are protected so they can get it back when they change apartments. This ensures the dorms and/or properties are live-able, decent and fair to the students and backed by the law for compliance (for example, if a landlord or a school put a property below accepted standards for rent by international students, that landlord and/or school can be sanctioned by the law and made to either fix the place or refund the rent). This policy also ensures that landlords are protected from abusive tenants.
5. Working Conditions:
The TRNC has a minimum wage but in fairness to employers, it may not be feasible for businesses to pay the same rates for a worker who puts in more hours of work alongside those who put in less, even if they have a serious limitation such as school. The TRNC can have a second minimum wage (about 60–70%) of the first one applicable to student workers alongside a cap on the maximum number of hours a student can work so school work is not affected. This ensures fairness as the employer does not have to demand more hours from the student to justify paying the minimum wage and the student does not have to choose between work and school work.
The year is 2020, nobody (especially international students) should have to go through any of the above or have to choose between personal development/ education and earning a living.
As a student….
1. Research and informed decisions: There is a lot the government can do but on your part as an international student, the best way you can find out the truth about the Island is from a student who is currently schooling on the Island or from VOIS Cyprus BEFORE you make your decision about coming to school here.
2. Contracts and flat mates: Do not sign housing contracts in Turkish that you have not read or fully understand. It is dangerous and can/will be used against you in court. More importantly, be careful about who you intend to share an apartment with. If they are caught breaking the law i.e; stealing, running a business and/or drugs, you are automatically implicated and you will be arrested/ jailed with them even if you are innocent.
3. Working and running a business: International students are not allowed to run businesses on the Island. It is against the law. Jobs are also restricted to a few brown collar jobs and employers are mostly exploitative and narrow-minded. Even sometimes racist. Dont come to the TRNC hoping to get a job to pay your fees or house rent or pay bills. It will not work as you may never get a job, you will mostly be paid peanuts far below the minimum wage, you will work long hours and have to choose between work and school for very little pay and you will still not be able to make ends meet.
The year is 2020, nobody (especially international students) should have to go through any of the above. All the best!
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Related: Read my other articles (part I-III) on Questions to ask before moving abroad/ relocating from Nigeria.
