Students are seen at the entrance of Ankara University in Ankara, Türkiye, on Aug. 28, 2023. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)
by Burak Akinci
ANKARA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- As Turkish universities are set to reopen in a few weeks, students are faced with a soaring cost of living that will possibly force them to seek ways to cover their expenses.
Higher education establishments will start the new academic year in the first two weeks of September, and students are already scrambling to find affordable housing.
Serkan Guzel, 18, from the southern city of Mersin, will start a four-year bachelor's degree in engineering at Ankara's Hacettepe University.
He, desperate to find a place to stay, said the cost of living has become a top concern for students.
"I applied for a place in a public dormitory but got no positive replies, as there is too much demand but no sufficient supply," he told Xinhua in a cafe downtown Kizilay, where students usually hang out.
His parents are retired workers and do not have the means to rent him an apartment in the city, where rents have skyrocketed due to the country's persistent inflation.
"There are privately managed dormitories, but they are far too expensive," Guzel lamented.
A modest two-bedroom flat costs an average of 8,000 Turkish lira (301 U.S. dollars) to rent in Ankara. Soaring energy bills and transportation fees are another burden for cash-strapped students.
Sharing a place with other students may be an option, but the living conditions in those places are unlikely to be enjoyable.
"They (parents) can only send me 4,500 Turkish lira a month to cover all my expenses, housing and food included," Guzel said, pointing out that he needs to get himself a part-time job to make ends meet.
"I will have to get a part-time job and save up every bit of money I can on top of trying to get a degree. It is not going to be easy," the freshman said.
With annual inflation nearing 50 percent, the cost of goods and commodities has surged across the board in Türkiye, with no exceptions for college students and their families.
The government-supported aid initiatives have proven insufficient amid the high inflation.
Even though public universities are free, housing and cost of living are high. Many students opt for universities close to their homes to ease the financial strain on their families.
Meanwhile, private colleges are just beyond the reach of ordinary Turks, with their annual tuition fees ranging between 10,000 and 20,000 dollars in major cities such as Ankara and Istanbul.
In Türkiye, some 2.5 million candidates enter a centralized university entrance exam each year, and a third of them will be enrolled in the country's over 200 higher education institutions based on their results.
Türkiye has attracted students from different parts of the world because of its low cost of living and less expensive education for foreigners paying in dollars or euros. For locals, however, it's the opposite, as their national currency has been depreciating nonstop since 2018.
This year alone, the lira has shed 30 percent of its value against the greenback, dealing a blow to the purchasing power of consumers in this import-reliant nation.
According to experts, the cost of living is also affecting the academic choice of students in Türkiye.
"Future university students now prefer branches related to computer sciences, a profession that pays well in Türkiye and abroad," Nur Erdem Ozeren, an education expert told the local daily Birgun.
The expert said that because of Türkiye's economic woes, a significant number of students want to work in a foreign country after graduation.
"Demand for programs such as law, medicine, and teaching is gradually decreasing as they are considered low-paying professions. Students are opting for professions that will not pose them financial issues once they graduate," Ozeren added. ■
Students chat at Ankara University in Ankara, Türkiye, on Aug. 28, 2023. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)
Students walk at Ankara University in Ankara, Türkiye, Aug. 28, 2023. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)
A student is seen at a dormitory room of Ankara University in Ankara, Türkiye, on Aug. 28, 2023. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)
