Private high school tuition fees have skyrocketed... They are competing with foundation universities
While education costs are becoming more expensive by the day, annual tuition fees at foundation universities had already exceeded 1 million TL for the new term. A similar situation has occurred in private high schools.
12punto
Another increase has been added to private school tuition fees. The annual fees for foundation universities had previously been made public, with Sabancı University's annual tuition set at 1 million 100 thousand TL, while the cost of one year of study at Koç University was announced as 1 million 75 thousand TL. Now, the hikes in private high school fees have become a topic of discussion.
According to a report in Sözcü, tuition fees for foreign schools in Turkey have increased by more than 100 percent compared to last year. Parents who want to enroll their children in foreign schools, such as American, French, or German high schools, for the 2024-2025 academic year are facing high tuition costs.
While the tuition for some high schools exceeds 1 million liras, others have seen price hikes exceeding 300 percent. While the Ministry of National Education imposes limits on the rate of tuition increases for students currently enrolled in intermediate grades at private high schools, it does not set a quota for schools when determining fees for newly enrolled students. Consequently, parents of new students may face fee increases that are significantly higher than the announced inflation rate.
Robert College, the most expensive among foreign high schools, has increased its tuition fees by 134.7 percent compared to last year, surpassing 1 million Turkish Lira. The fee, which was 446,400 TL for cash payments last year, has reached 1 million 47 thousand 900 TL this year. Enrolling at Üsküdar American Academy has become 955 thousand TL, marking a 126.1 percent increase compared to last year. Tuition at the İstanbul St. Joseph French High School was 380,128 TL for cash payments in the 2023-2024 academic year, rising to 920,250 TL for the 2024-2025 academic year. The fee for another French high school, Notre Dame de Sion, was increased by 520 thousand TL in one year, set at 895 thousand TL. Among the prominent French high schools, the tuition fee for St. Benoit has risen to 845,500 TL, St. Michel to 833 thousand TL, and St. Pulcherie to 818 thousand 900 TL.
While tuition fees at foreign schools have increased by more than 100 percent, the annual fee increase at the German High School (Alman Lisesi) reached 305 percent. Last year, a family enrolling a student at the German High School was required to make an advance payment of 207 thousand 900 TL. This year, that fee has reached 842 thousand 385 TL for advance payments, while it has hit 905 thousand TL for installment payments. Looking at other schools, the tuition fee at the Izmir American College has risen to 759 thousand 500 TL, the fee at the Tarsus American College to 721 thousand 280 TL, and the fee at the St. George Austrian High School to 500 thousand TL.
