Ten years ago, there were barely 500 Indonesians studying in Turkish universities, a number that has since grown to almost 5000 for the academic year 2022/2023. How did we get here? Let's delve into the data provided by the Turkish Council of Higher Education for the last ten academic years, which can be filtered based on students' nationality.
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While the records don't specifically indicate the number of new students enrolled, we observe a gradual increase in the number of Indonesian students in Turkey every year from 2013 to 2018, with an average growth rate of 10%. Until 2017, the primary channel for Indonesian students to study in Turkey was the Turkiye Burslari scholarship provided by the Turkish government. This was due to limited information available on the Internet, with only a few Turkish universities having dedicated pages for prospective students in English. Since the Turkiye Burslari scholarship aimed to promote Turkish culture in general, its awardees were dispersed across many universities and cities, resulting in an unlikely significant increase in Indonesian students at a specific university. Therefore, a sudden increase in student count at a particular university likely resulted from the emergence of a new channel for Indonesian students to study abroad, namely, the Education Agency.
The first wave of Indonesian students coming from Education Agencies can be traced to Kastamonu University in the academic year 2016/2017, with an increase of 36 students, representing about a 700% growth from the previous student count of 5. In the following year, there were suddenly 67 Indonesian students in Kirklareli, a small town near the western border of Europe, which had never hosted any Indonesian students before. The number of Indonesian students in Turkey reached 1000 for the first time in 2018/2019, with a record 54% growth in student count. Approximately 30% of the entire student count came from only two universities: Bursa Uludag University and Sakarya University. Since then, an increasing number of Indonesian students have been studying at Sakarya University, which now has 552 Indonesian students in the academic year 2022/2023.
Turkey has been the "dream" for many Indonesians, and with the growing number of Education Consultants, studying in Turkey has become an attainable goal. The opportunity to experience the four seasons with living costs relatively similar to some big Indonesian cities is tempting to many. Additionally, it is easy for parents, especially those from conservative Muslim backgrounds, to consider Turkey a safe choice for studying abroad, even for girls. The growth of the female Indonesian student count has surpassed their male counterparts for the last three academic years, with currently 42% of Indonesian students in Turkey being female.
Unfortunately, many of these so-called Education Consultants fail to deliver on their promises, leaving many clients feeling abandoned and left to fend for themselves upon reaching Turkey. However, these consultants continue to bring more and more students to study in Turkey. Even the Indonesian Student Association in Turkey has noted that most of the common problems experienced by students can be linked to irresponsible Education Consultants. It is crucial for prospective students to conduct research beforehand, especially with a wealth of information already available on the Internet. The Turkish Council of Higher Education has prepared an informative guide in English with a detailed list of universities and programs open to foreigners. There is also a comprehensive guide in Bahasa Indonesia for prospective students prepared by the Indonesian Student Association in Turkey, together with the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara, which should provide more than enough information for settling in Turkey. With these easily accessible guides and numerous current Indonesian students in Turkey to ask, there should be less incentive to rely solely on Education Consultants and opt for the best university.