When It Comes To Studying In North Cyprus, There Are Myths And Facts.
I founded Prime Endeavours in 2018, an international education agency registered under the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria, with the sole purpose of providing educational services, amongst which is providing education consulting and student recruitment services to candidates who wish to pursue higher education abroad. I believe education is a fundamental right that everyone can have access to. With this view in mind, we strive to create opportunities for those with genuine aspirations and honest intentions, student services, qualifications, and career prospects worldwide. We work in the best interest of students first and our partner universities and colleges — we are professional and reliable. Read more about us on our website https://primeendeavours.com/.
Today, I can honestly say, all students that came to study abroad through Prime Endeavours received accurate and adequate information about North Cyprus before arriving. A good number of them have graduated with excellent results and have good Jobs in different countries, those currently studying are doing very well in terms of their living and studying in TRNC as well, not a single person can honestly say he/she was deceived by us to come to Cyprus or is living a hard life here in Cyprus, we do not bring people who are inclined to committing any kind of crime, at least we don’t have that record.
This is because of our transparency and honesty; we prepare prospective students ahead of time and tell them the pros and cons of studying and living in North Cyprus. This is why we haven’t brought a lot of students, just a select few; those who are willing to study and have the financial capacity. We always ask the prospective students about their intentions to study abroad and from there can give them honest feedback on whether North Cyprus is the place for them or a different country or whether they should stay back in their countries. One of the things we ask them is whether they have the financial capacity to pay for their tuition, and accommodation and live an honest living, we have never accepted anyone with the intention of coming to just find a job and not study. I tell my client not to come to North Cyprus if they don’t have the finances as I said in my interview with AFP News agency in Nicosia:
I have seen how students without adequate financial capacity struggle to make ends meet abroad, the idea of abroad sounds nice, everyone wants to go overseas but it’s not cheap to go abroad. So when prospective students hear of an affordable university, and the possibility of getting a job, they want to jump on it. Agents use these to lure young prospective students who come from honest homes to North Cyprus, and on getting to North Cyprus they find that they can’t find a good job and things are expensive for them. Of course, there are some who have good jobs but they are few.
All these are because the Universities weren’t really prepared for the influx of students, they wanted it, but didn’t prepare for it; they left a very important job to the agents/partner representatives to interface between them and the prospective students, and not so many of them are honest with their work.
The Quality of Education in North Cyprus.
It is obvious that there is a great opportunity to study and further your career in North Cyprus otherwise there wouldn’t be such an influx of students to the island. Where many countries have challenges for students who have honest intentions to further their education, North Cyprus gives them that opportunity. The Quality of Education is great, I can tell you because I studied and live in North Cyprus, some of the graduates outrank European university graduates in knowledge and skill. In my country Nigeria, I know how difficult it is to get into University, the problem is not the quality of education, we have a good standard of education but there are other problems. Getting into a good University in Nigeria is not so easy and the competition is high, not to mention political and corruption issues. This is just the case of Nigeria, many other nationals can testify of what issues made them leave their country to come study in North Cyprus.
Are Universities in North Cyprus recognized in other parts of the world?
You must have probably heard that “North Cyprus is not a recognized country”, or “Turkey only recognizes North Cyprus”, or “North Cyprus is an illegal country”, blah blah blah … and you will keep hearing it. This narrative that the media creates is a half-truth; because they talk about the country and not the University's educational standards and quality which are recognized worldwide. You will probably come across articles stating that the universities in North Cyprus and the degrees awarded by them are not recognized by the Republic of Cyprus because they are in an illegally occupied part of Cyprus under Turkish rule. Yes, the Universities in Northern Cyprus aren’t recognized by the Republic of Cyprus (an EU country)(South Cyprus), but they are recognized by the Ministry of Education in North Cyprus and that of Turkey, Turkey itself as a country and many parts of the world, this is because of the political issue between them, but graduates of the Universities in North Cyprus have had their qualifications accepted and further their education in Europe (EU Countries) and other parts of the world and work there. Clearly, this is not a University recognition issue but a state recognition issue which is “a political act”, and the two must be treated separately. When you come across the media saying that the universities aren't recognized, look closely, it’s a political issue and not educational. The International Human Rights Law requires States and International Organizations to remove any obstacle to the right to education, North Cyprus Inclusive.
Here is an article by ARSLAN about the UNIVERSITIES IN NORTH CYPRUS AND THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION.
Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) for example, amongst its many rankings, qualifications, and accreditations both local and international is ranked within 501–600 Band of World University Rankings and 201–250 in Physical Sciences, Business, Economics, and Engineering.
I know of ABET accreditation which the top universities in North Cyprus have for their Engineering programs. ABET is one of the best accreditation bodies for Engineering programs in the world.
Read about the Value of ABET accreditation on their website here.
I don’t want to make this a long story, but do your own research, if you are thinking of studying in North Cyprus, check the accreditation and the recognition of the program and university, ask questions, and if possible hear from graduates or current students. The accreditations are a lot for both universities and their programs in North Cyprus. So why is the negative narrative as though the universities are not recognized? I cannot answer that question completely, but one of the reasons is the political division of North and South Cyprus and how north Cyprus is recognized by Turkey alone. I also know that the universities haven’t done a good job catering to their students. In some cases, the students who have had a bad experience on the island pose themselves as enemies of the island and try to diminish the good of the island.
Now What?
The universities are doing a great job of maintaining and increasing the quality of education they offer. There are some parts that have been neglected. My personal suggestion is for the universities to set up a system to reach out to their prospective students as soon as the student's admission has been applied for by the agents to orient them ahead before coming to North Cyprus. This will eliminate false or inadequate information given to prospective students by their agents.
