Bozdag instructs increase in foreign scholarship student Quotas

The International Students Assessment Committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag, has agreed in a meeting to include universities in efforts to further increase Turkey's share in international education. Upon the decision, the number of foreign scholarship students in Turkey will reportedly rise from 4,000 to 5,000. Bozdag has also instructed the establishment of a joint commission by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, Higher Education Council and universities which will work on a system mostly allowing students who will study in Turkey at their own expense. More than 140,000 students from 150 countries applied for studying in Turkey and 4,000 were granted scholarships in 2013. The applicants were mainly from the Central Asia, Balkans, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe. For the first time, students from Israel and Armenia also applied for scholarships.