Authorities probe enrollment of Turkish students in unauthorized embassy schools

ISTANBUL

The Education Ministry has instructed provincial authorities to investigate whether Turkish students are enrolled in unauthorized schools originally established for the children of foreign embassy or consulate staff.

The directive, issued by the General Directorate of Private Education Institutions, calls for an urgent review of enrollment records and mandates that parents of students attending institutions lacking legal status be formally notified.

In a circular sent to the governor’s offices, the ministry emphasized that students of compulsory education age must be enrolled in formal institutions operating under the ministry’s supervision.

Authorities were asked to examine whether students registered in the e-School system but marked absent are, in fact, attending such unlicensed institutions and to take the necessary administrative measures.

In 2024, the ministry instructed two French schools in Türkiye to transfer their Turkish students to other institutions if they fail to meet the required conditions. Shortly after, a German school in the capital Ankara also announced that it would no longer accept Turkish students.

Media reports had previously revealed that Turkish students would be barred from these schools starting in 2024 after negotiations between the Turkish ministry and the French embassy failed to resolve the dispute.

Under Türkiye’s legal framework, Turkish students are required to be educated within the national system and follow the Turkish curriculum.