President of the Central Bank of Turkey Şahap Kavcıoğlu: “Turkish Economy Model is Focused on Investment, Production and Exports”

President of the Central Bank of Turkey Şahap Kavcıoğlu: “Turkish Economy Model is Focused on Investment, Production and Exports”

At the online meeting, hosted by Memiş Kütükcü, Head of the Konya Chamber of Industry, Prof. Dr. Şahap Kavcıoğlu, President of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), stated that Turkish economy model is focused on investment, production and exports.

During the meeting, Prof. Dr. Şahap Kavcıoğlu mentioned the efforts of the Central Bank to fight inflation in the country.

Kavcıoğlu stated that they are making efforts to cope with the inflation in the country, though it is important that all industrial sectors support the Central Bank’s struggle to eliminate the volatility in exchange rates and reduce inflation.

Stating that the Turkish economy model is focused on investment, production and exports, and in this respect the Central Bank has been developing important financial instruments to strengthen this model, Kavcıoğlu said, “Sustainable price stability can be achieved with the current account balance. As the Central Bank, we do our best to support investment, production and exports, to increase capacity utilization rates, and ensure that imported products are produced in Turkey for making it easier for the business world to access finance.”

Kütükcü, Head of the Konya Chamber of Industry, who conveyed the demands of the industrialists from Konya to Kavcıoğlu, stressed that high inflation and the meltdown in the working capital are the two most important problems at the moment, “We are under serious inflation pressure due to the price increase in almost every field, especially in commodities and energy. This pressure of inflation is literally melting the capital of our businesses. For a sustainable investment and production environment, our business world needs new financial mechanisms that will strengthen their working capital.”

As it is already known, the March inflation in Turkey increased by 5.46 percent compared to February.

While annual inflation was 61.14 percent according to TUIK data, the 12-month average rate of increase is 29.88 percent.

In March 2022,  in terms of the main expenditure groups, clothing and footwear showed the least increase, that was 1.78 percent, housing – 1.84 percent, while entertainment and culture got the price increase in 2.78 percent. On the other hand, the main groups with the highest increase in March 2022 were transportation with 13.29 percent, education with 6.55 percent, restaurants and hotels with 6.04 percent, respectively.

Sources:

https://www.haberturk.com/tcmb-baskani-kavcioglu-konyali-sanayicilerle-bir-araya-geldi-3395005-ekonomi

https://www.haberturk.com/mart-ayi-enflasyon-oranlari-ne-zaman-saat-kacta-aciklanacak-tuik-2022-mart-enflasyon-orani-3397539-ekonomi/3

Turkish Inflation Skyrockets Reaching a New 20-Year High

Turkish Inflation Skyrockets Reaching a New 20-Year High

In March, Turkish inflation reached a new two-decade high, making the lira increasingly vulnerable.

According to Bloomberg’s estimations, consumer prices rose an annual 61.1% last month.

Source: Turkey Inflation February 2022- https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/turkey/news/inflation/inflation-reaches-near-20-year-high-in-february

The central bank’s pause for three months caused Turkey’s interest rates to become the lowest in the world. 

With Turkey’s real rates at minus 47%, the lira has already come under pressure, staging the second worst performance after Russian ruble in emerging markets against the dollar in March.

The highest annual price increase last month was seen in transportation with 99.12%, followed by food and nonalcoholic beverages at 70.33% and furnishing and household equipment at 69.26%.

The lowest annual increases were posted by communication with 15.08%, education with 26.73%, and clothing and footwear with 26.95%.

Onur Ilgen, Head of the treasury at MUFG Bank Turkey in Istanbul, said, “Given the dramatic change in the macro outlook and financial conditions, we think the long-term sustainability of this policy framework will be less likely with inflation running above 60% and likely to remain high above 50% at least until last quarter”.

According to London-based Capital Economics, inflation will stay close to these high levels until the very final months of this year, “but the central bank and, crucially, President Erdogan seem to have no appetite for interest rate hikes”.

As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s goal is to use a cheaper lira to turn Turkey into a manufacturing power, the rate hikes aren’t on the agenda. 

Declines in the currency, which has lost over 9% this year, are making imports more expensive.

The currency’s turbulence has hit Turks hard, as the value of their salaries dropped and living costs dramatically increased. Steep hikes in electricity and natural gas tariffs have compounded the pain for consumers and businesses.

After the data release on Monday, Nureddin Nebati, Treasury & Finance Minister, predicted that inflation would fall to “a reasonable level” by the end of the year, though he did not provide any specific details.

Ziad Daoud, Chief Economist on Emerging Markets, mentioned, that the inflation data highlights an alarming situation for Turkish Lira and Turkish economy. Simultaneously, an escalation of the war in Ukraine will hit the currency through rising import costs. On the other hand, the end of the war conflict is expected to bring pressure from higher global interest rates. The inability of the central bank to raise interest rates magnifies the risks for the national currency.

Stating that the world economy, which has been facing an extraordinary period due to the pandemic over the last two years, has been shaken once again by the Russia-Ukraine war, the finance minister of Turkey noted that the economic effects of the war, as well as its tragic individual and social effects, have affected the whole world.

The supply problems, especially in agricultural and energy products, increase the inflationary pressure on all the countries, including Turkey. 

Sahap Kavcioglu, Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, says that support for the local currency will be a key objective this year, though little sign has been shown that it will involve a tighter monetary policy stance. 

The lira has fallen down 9.5% this year so far.

The central bank hopes to curb price growth by taking measures to encourage de-dollarization. 

The highlights of the March inflation report published by Turkstat on Monday are below:

  • Producer prices rose 9.2% in the month, bringing annual inflation to 115%. 
  • Elevated levels of factory-gate inflation are continuing to put upward pressure on consumer prices.
  • Energy inflation climbed to 102.9% from 83% in February, driven by a surge in the cost of refined products and natural gas, despite tax cuts.
  • Food prices, which make up roughly a quarter of the consumer basket, rose an annual 70.3%, up from 64.5%

With the central bank on the sidelines, Erdogan’s government is trying to contain prices by means of a new round of value-added tax cuts on some staple products, which will go into effect by April.

Though, according to Fatih Akcelik, Deutsche Bank AG economist, the inflationary pressures should be addressed via a monetary policy rather than minor fiscal adjustments. 

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-04/turkish-inflation-climbs-to-fresh-20-year-high-on-energy-lira

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/03/turkeys-inflation-rate-hits-a-new-20-year-high-of-54percent-.html

https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/turkeys-inflation-at-61-in-march-surpassing-estimations

Choosing Turkey to Improve Your Health? Here are Some Things to Consider

Choosing Turkey to Improve Your Health? Here are Some Things to Consider

With opening borders and making tourism more and more available in terms of travel regulations, finance, a variety of the traveling means and affordable destinations, medical tourism has gained a special place and becomes more and more popular among customers of all social groups and levels.

Why To Search for Health Services Abroad?

Reasons for Growth in Demand for Medical Tourism / Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey), at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

Being not satisfied with the local health services, their costs or due to the absence of some services, patients start looking for the medical opportunities in other countries.

When we think about health services, moreover in a different country, there are several things which are usually taken into consideration according to the recent research data:

  • quality of clinicians;
  • quality of facilities;
  • reputation of the clinicians / hospitals;
  • information available and its accessibility;
  • price for services;
  • accessibility of the destination or easiness to travel
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Place to Receive Medical Services / Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey), at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

The distribution of the tourists flow is quite different and it tends to change depending on the political and economic situations, powers of influence, reputation and costs, easiness to travel and attractiveness of the services themselves.

Tourism in the World / Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey), at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

Among a variety of places and destinations for medical services and health tourism, Turkey has occupied a firm position with its attractive costs, quality of the hospitals, beautiful locations, speed of diagnostics and treatment provision.

Thanks to its geographical location Turkey has become Choice Number One for patience coming from Middle East and Europe, including neighbouring countries and those which are quite far (e.g. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, etc.).

Turkey as a Destination for Health Tourism / Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey), at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

So, What Makes Turkey So Attractive in Terms of the Medical Services?

Together with a favourable geographical location and climate peculiarities, the country has gained a positive image worldwide due to a big variety of medical infrastructure and facilities.

The medical centres are equipped with modern diagnostic machines, tools and all necessary chemicals to make diagnostics quick and to provide necessary treatment prescriptions in a fast way for the patients to keep up with their travel plans.

Together with that, available language services make communication easy and understandable for all patients. Whether they are coming from Eastern Europe, West or from the Arab countries, they can find appropriate interpretation services, services for translation of their medical papers and prescriptions, to make the process really fast and comprehensible.

Strengths of Turkey as a Destination for Health Tourism / Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey), at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

Dynamics in the popularity of Turkey as a Medical Destination can be checked on the picture below, starting from 2013 and coming up to 2020, when some fall can be observed due to the travel restrictions, caused by the global lockdown.

Dynamics of the Medical Tourists Flows to Turkey / Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey), at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

Stabilising the global situation in terms of traveling is going to renew the flows of tourists coming to Turkey with a purpose to find better medical solutions and services for their health.

Meanwhile this time can be used to rethink and to revaluate potential of the country in the global market of the medical services and to consider its weaknesses contrasting with the achievements of the main competitors.

Among the weaknesses to be considered is the absence of standards on the medical services, discrepancy of provision available in private and public hospitals, necessity to enhance the medical staff’s competences on the patients’ rights, international regulations, and so on.

Weaknesses to Consider for Enhancing Medical Services for International Patients in Turkey / Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey), at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

Together with that the hospitals and doctors working in Turkey still need international branding for their services to be known and accepted at the international level.

With the enthusiasm of the local medical business, high standards for the medical education in the country, encouraging the most talented students to choose medicine as a profession and pursue medical career with the support of the government, it is certain that the medical sector of Turkey will continue developing and gaining more popularity worldwide.

Despite national enthusiasm there are still things to consider on the way to improvements and development and namely some threats which cannot be ignored.

Among them is political instability, strong international competitions and some other factors which can be checked on the picture below.

Threats to Consider in Developing Medical Tourism in Turkey / Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey), at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

References

Burtan Doğan, B., & Aslan, A. (2019). Türkiye’de Sağlık Turizminin Mevcut Durumu ve Ülke Ekonomisine Katkıları. 9(18), 391-420.

Saglık Turizmi Verileri. (2021). 10 28, 2021 tarihinde USHAŞ: https://www.ushas.com.tr/saglik-turizmi-verileri/ adresinden alındı

SHGM Sağlık Turizmi Daire Başkanlığı. (2021). Ministry of Health: https://saglikturizmi.saglik.gov.tr/siteagaci adresinden alındı

Tengilimoğlu, D. (2021, Ekim). Sağlık Turizmi. Eskişehir.

Uysal Şahin, Ö., & Şahin, M. (2018). Türkiye’de Sağlık Turizminin Potansiyeli ve Geleceği: SWOT Analizi. Journal of Awareness, 3(Special Issue), 287-300. doi:10.26809/joa.2018548638


The overview is based on the materials of the research and presentation done by Assoc. Prof., Dr. Alper Guzel (Gazi University, Turkey) at APBM 2021, II International Conference on Applied Psychology and Business Management

More information on the medical tourism in Turkey, suggestions, recommendations together with consultancy and translation for individuals and groups who would like to visit Turkey for the health purposes can be received by contacting us at start.inforum@gmail.com.


Let’s Visit Odessa

Let’s Visit Odessa

Odessa is one of the most populous cities of Ukraine and a major tourism center, known also for its seaport and transport hub.

Odessa is located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. 

Odessa is the main trading and fishing port of the country and its harbour is kept open all year round, with the use of ice-breakers in winter.

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It is also a major industrial city of the region and the country, a cultural centre with museums and theatres, and a world famous opera house.

Owing to its milder climate, and a location on the very shore of the Black Sea it became a popular resort, attracting tourists from different countries.

The city being a rail junction helps Odessa with some of its exports in petroleum , processed food, fertilisers, chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, machinery, clothing and others.

Odessa also is a centre for qualitative education. The graduates from its state universities, polytechnic, medical schools, marine academy and a music conservatory are valuable specialists not only in the country but abroad too.

With the purposes of tourism , education, business, trading, entertainment or just sun-bathing and swimming in the sea you can come to Odessa and find great solutions for your plans and ideas.

Accommodation in Odessa

The city covers a large area and to better orient in the city for making plans for the trip and the tour logistics we will suggest you a few places which are remarkable for their location and quality of services.

Mozart Hotel

The hotel in the center of Odessa Mozart is not only the hallmark of the city, but also the pride of every Odessa’s citizen for its unique architecture and exceptional beauty.

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It is located in the historical center of the city, in close proximity to the architectural and historical heritage of the city – the Opera and Ballet Theater, which is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful architectural creations of Europe and was miraculously saved during the Second World War.

The building of the business hotel “Mozart” in Odessa is not inferior in its historical value to the famous theater. During the reconstruction, according to old photographs and plans of the hotel, which was located in the same building at the beginning of the 19th century, the facade and interior of the premises were restored.

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Today, the Mozart Hotel is a European-level hotel that meets high modern standards, while maintaining the authenticity of its architecture.

The hotel has 78 rooms ranging from 11 to 69 sq.m. The furnishings of the rooms, from furnishings to furnishings, combine classic and modern styles.

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Hotel Londonskaya

It is the first hotel which was built in Odessa in 1827 and since then I has had a long history, seeing the change of the time and epochs.

The hotel’s classic interiors of the 19th century provide the hotel’s guests with the comfort and luxury.

The hotel has 69 rooms of different categories with beautiful views from the window to Primorsky Boulevard and a cozy patio.

Since 1827 it has hosted such outstanding people as Isadora Duncan, Paulo Coelho, Marcello Mastroianni, Sergei Eisenstein and other famous personalities.

The hotel is located in the city center in Primorsky Boulevard which is among the main touristic attractions of Odessa.

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Bristol Hotel

Bristol hotel is located in Pushkinska street in the historical center of Odesa. The hotel is walkable to the main city sights and convenient to the main transport hubs of the city:

  • Railway station 1.5 km;
  • International airport “Odesa” – 12 km;
  • Odesa sea port – 1 km

Bristol hotel is the place where all your wishes come true with five star hotel service staying in the heart of Odesa, visiting SPA, organizing conferences and weddings in the most grandeur facilites of the city.

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Deribas Hotel

The hotel is located in the very heart of Deribasovskaya Street, the central and the most important touristic attraction of Odessa.

The affordable prices and convenient location makes the hotel to be a good choice in terms of budget and opportunities for touring and entertainment.

The hotel can offer clean and comfortable rooms, decorated in a classic style and creating a nice atmosphere for a rest after a busy day.

The hotel is very near to a wide range of restaurants and bars to have a big choice for food and time spending.

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Venus Hotel

The hotel enjoys its centaur location, being in a walking distance from the main touristic, historical and cultural attractions of the city.

As most of the buildings in the city centre, the hotel is remarkable for its architecture and stylish decoration.

Being a good offer in terms of budget and location, the hotel can be a good choice for those who come for short term trips and have busy time during the day to have a good rest in the cosy and comfortable rooms of Venus Hotel at night.

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Palais Royal Boutique Hotel

This is another suggestion to stay central in Odessa, combining the comfort of the place with the entertainments of Deribasovskaya Street.

The hotel interior design attracts attention with its classic style, smart combination of different shadows of brown, creating a cosy and relaxing atmosphere where there is nothing to give disturbance or irritate.

The hotel has its own restaurant which comes out to the garden where the visitors can enjoy their meals and exquisite deserts while listening to the tunes of Deribasovskaya Street which are especially charming in the evenings.

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Atlantic Garden Resort Hotel

Our hotel is located close to the seacoast and Arcadia, the most famous recreation area of Odessa.

The hotel meets European standards of quality and services. The interior of the hotel can surprise with its exclusive design, and its restaurant is known for its inquisitive cuisine.

The hotel’s rooms are cozy and comfortable. Its large sunny terraces open to a magnificent panorama.

In the FITNESS & SPA the visitor will be able to regain their energy and refresh themselves.

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Odessa is a good place to visit in any time of the year, sharing its beauty with the visitors in its remarkable architecture, special spirit of the streets and its yards, bars and restaurants with alive music and a diversity of food and drinks.

The city provides a wide range of opportunities for business, education, trade and just a leisure time all round the year, warmly welcoming its visitors and making them come here again and again.

To explore Odessa, arrange accommodation for individual and group tours, business trips, to provide guidance and consultancy in any question, concerning your interests in Odessa, please feel free to concat us

Happy International Translation Day! – Challenges of Translation Nowadays

Happy International Translation Day! – Challenges  of Translation Nowadays

To all our colleagues and business partners our best wishes on the International Translation Day, 30 of September!

Let’s take a look at some historical facts concerning the establishment of this day as a special day of translators all round the world, and challenges faced by translators in the modern world.

It is not so long ago as International Translation Day was recognised as a world event. 

The United Nations (UN), the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to declare September 30 as the International Translation Day on May 24, 2017.

This day recognizes the contribution of language specialists to reinforcing international understanding, improving communication and cooperation among nations for worldwide peace and security.

Translation is one of the oldest professions, rooting in the times when at least one pair of different languages came into existence. To make a bridge between two tribes and two languages, using any means to make people understand each other, was the mission of first translators.

The conditions of the translations’ work were changing through time as well as the demands put forward to the final translated text.

Surely, when working with a text, the translator has to deal with words of multiple meanings, a big variety of means which are different in the language of the source text and the targeted language and to search for the best way to convey the meaning. And it will be always like this. Though the question here is how the translators’ job goes on in present days, regardless of the languages but in concern of the social and economic processes, demands and expectations of the modern world.

Let’s discuss at least some of the them.

Increasing competition from other translators

Globalisation and increased interconnection of the world made it easier for customers to rich a big number of translators who can take up the task and make it quickly and professionally. A quick web search presents customers with the most active and renowned translators, many of which are often larger companies.

For the independent translator, trying to stand out from the crowd can seem quit overwhelming.

The advise here can be to develop specialised niche, establish personal connections with potential customers and keep on widening your social circles to become known for your special skills and achievements.

Competition from machine-based translation 

It’s not just fellow translators that prove to be competitors, the modern translator also has to factor in machine-based translation.

Machine translation is easy to use and free, with solutions such as Google Translate offering the ability to simply copy and paste foreign-language text and click ‘translate’.

Though machine-translation tools are developing very fast, surprising with a raising quality of the equivalents provided for the words and phrases, this kind of translation needs much more work and efforts from a human being to make the text acceptable. Especially if it goes about language pairs which are not in the same family group or about rare languages.

Machine-based translation is really a good help either for amateur language user or for a professional translator, but the significant difference between them is the knowledge and skills of dealing with the text translated by the machine and making it work for the purposes of the human communication. Fine details, hidden meanings, and sometimes openly wrong choices done by the machine are only some things which should be professionally monitored and adjusted to the real language and factual text meaning.

Pricing accurately

With the wide variety of translators from across the globe, the rate of pay varies greatly. Translators who live in some countries may charge less than translators who live in expensive countries.

It can be stressful to think that customers might be getting significantly better value from other translators, and deciding how to put a price on the translation services.

To deal with pricing, the translator needs to be aware of the market situation and at the same time be confident in their abilities to perform reliably and professionally. Over time the circles of the customers will get more settled and it will be easier to manage prices and financial offers.



In Conclusion

These are just a few remarks to mention about the translator’s profession nowadays.

The world is changing as well as its expectations to the professionals in different fields. Concerning translators, they definitely must:

  • Be knowledgeable within the languages of translation;
  • Understand their strong and weak sides in translation and to present themselves accordingly, i.e. doing the translations within the topics and languages which they feel absolutely confident;
  • Be aware of the market processes and the demands for translations;
  • Perform quickly and reliably in terms of timing, quality and accuracy;
  • Be skilful in using at least one or two machine-translation tools to help you work quickly and consistently;
  • Be flexible in timing, performance, negotiations and conditions. As there are no two same persons, there are no two same texts, which means that the conditions of translating and processing the text will always vary;
  • Be open to new knowledge and opportunities, keep on reading to absorb the language norms and broaden your background knowledge. It is not hard to do but it will always work well when you will come across with the task to translate some specific, complicated texts or edit the machine-translated drafts to the level of the language which is acceptable in high academic or political circles.

Yet, despite all challenges, translation is a great area to work in. Meeting new people, learning more about other cultures and countries, and being tuned about the latest processes in the world are the things which make the translator’s job exciting and dynamic.

Happy International Translation Day!

STF Translation Team

Feel free to contact us:

New Rules for the Sale of Mortgage Apartments have been launched in Ukraine

New Rules for the Sale of Mortgage Apartments have been launched in Ukraine

The Law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Concerning the Elimination of Disagreements and Modernization of the Sale of Property in Mortgage and Enforcement Proceedings” came into force. It is published on the Act’s page of the website of the Verkhovna Rada.

The law eliminates differences and modernizes the sale of property in mortgages and introduce the enforcement proceedings. 

The Act improves the existing system of the seized property sale together with the system of notarizing the sales and ensuring the indisputability of the mortgagee’s rights when meeting their claims.

The seized property is sold through electronic auctions or at a fixed price. The realization at a fixed price is applied to property, the estimated value of which does not exceed 30 minimum wages.

The realization at a fixed price is not applicable to real estate, vehicles, aircraft, sea and river vessels, regardless of the value of such property.

The procedure for conducting electronic auctions will be determined by the Ministry of Justice.

Immovable property, which is not sold at an electronic auction, is put up for a repeated electronic auction at a price of 85 percent, and movable property at 75 percent of its value, determined according to the procedure, established by Article 57 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings.

In case of repeated non-sale of property, real estate is put up for the third electronic auction at a price of 70 percent, and movable property at 50 percent of its value.

Unrealized property, confiscated by a court decision, is put up for a repeated electronic auction at a price not less than the amount of national taxes and fees that, according to the Tax Code, are payable in transactions, involving the sale of such property.

If the recoverer provides their consent, the third electronic auction is carried out by selling property with the possibility of lowering the initial price, but not less than 60 percent of its value for real estate and 30 percent for movable property.

If the property is not sold at the third electronic auction, the executor informs the claimant about this and invites them to resolve the issue of retaining unrealized property, except for property confiscated by a court decision.

The property is transferred to the claimant at the price of the third electronic auction or at a fixed price. The executor issues a resolution on the transfer of property to the recoverer in repayment of the debt. 

On the fact of such a transfer, the performer draws up an act. The decision and the act are the basis for further registration by the claimant of the ownership of such property.

Sources

Economic Truth

https://www.epravda.com.ua/rus/news/2021/09/7/677575/

Act’s page of the website of the Verkhovna Rada

https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1701-20#Text

Translated by STF Translation

Education in Turkey

Turkish education system is under the supervision and control of the state, namely the Ministry of National Education. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, everyone has the right to receive education. Education is compulsory from ages 6 to 14 and free in state schools. The country’s primary schools currently have a 98 percent participation rate. 
The academic year in Turkish education institutions generally begins in the mid-September or early October and continues to May or early June. There is also a two-week winter break in February. 

Stages of the Education System

Pre-School Education: Optional kindergarten education, up to 6 years of age.
Primary Education: Compulsory and free basic education for eight years (5 years elementary + 3 years secondary), 6-14 years of age.
Secondary Education: 4 years of High School (Lise), or Vocational High School education, 15-17/18 years of age. Some schools might have an additional year of language study. High schools are mostly owned by the government and provide free education. 
Higher Education: 4 years of University, or 2 years at Higher Vocational Schools. Some schools have an additional year of language study. Under normal circumstances, Master’s study lasts 2 years; PhD 3-5 years. This category includes all educational institutions which will provide post-secondary education. They are under the supervision of Higher Educational Council (YOK).

Types of High Schools

Public High Schools (“Normal Liseler” or “Duz Liseler”): Any student who successfully completes 8 years of basic education can go onto these schools. Graduates of public high schools, if successful in the nationwide University Entrance Examination (ÖSS), can go onto higher education institutions. Graduates are awarded with the Lise Diploması.
Vocational High Schools (Meslek Liseleri): Some of these schools may take an additional year to complete. Graduates can automatically go on to higher vocational schools (Meslek Yüksek Okulları – 2 Year Vocational Colleges) in their respective fields of study if they wish. Alternatively, if successful in the university entrance examination, they can go onto 4-year schools in their respective fields.
Anatolian High Schools (Anadolu Liseleri): One year of English study followed by 3 years of regular high school education, additional hours for English. Math and Science lessons at these schools are sometimes taught in English. Lessons at some Anatolian high schools are taught in either German or French.
Super High Schools (Super Liseler): The difference between these and normal high schools is one extra year of English study. They differ from Anatolian high schools in that the language of instruction for math and science courses is always Turkish and less hours are given to English lessons.
Science High Schools (Fen Liseleri): These are special public schools for students who have exceptional aptitude in the sciences. These very competitive high schools train students specifically for higher education in the sciences, technical and medical fields. There is also Anatolian Science High Schools (Anadolu Fen Liseleri), where the medium of instruction for math and sciences is sometimes in English.
Private High Schools (Ozel Liseler): Most private high schools charge very high tuition fees and are very competitive.

Types of Higher Education Institutions

State Universities (Devlet Universiteleri): The university system in Turkey is governed by the Higher Educational Council (YOK). Turkey has 104 state and 62 private universities (a total of 166 institutions of higher learning), 5 of which are located in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Apart from the public and private universities, 8 foundation higher vocational schools serve the job market.

Generally, undergraduate education takes 4 years at universities, but some fields such as medicine (6 years), dentistry (5 years), and veterinary science (5 years) take longer. Turkish high school graduates go directly into fields of study such as medicine, law, dentistry and so on. No tuition fee is charged at public schools (devlet universitesi); students pay only a small basic fee. Students need to pass a nationwide University Entrance Exam (OSS) to enter a university. The graduates of 4-year programs are awarded with the Bachelor’s Degree (Lisans Diplomasi).

The medium of instruction at some state universities is English, German or French. Therefore, all correspondence with the university staff and applications to the faculties can be done in English, German or French. However, instruction language at state universities is mostly Turkish. When entering the exam of the university, the knowledge of Turkish is not necessary. Those who pass the exams, and have only a little knowledge of Turkish, are considered to take one year of language foundation to gain proficiency in the Turkish language. 

Graduate-level programs consist of master and doctoral programs, coordinated by institutes in universities. Medical specialty programs are carried out within the faculties of medicine and the training hospitals owned by the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Institute (SGK).

Higher Vocational Schools (Meslek Yuksek Okulları): They offer 2 years of undergraduate study after high school and are very much like the community colleges in the USA. The only difference is that students cannot easily transfer to 4-year schools in the USA due to fewer places at the 4-year schools. Two year graduates must take the national Vertical Transfer Test (Dikey Gecis Sinavi) and have a high GPA to be able to apply to 4-year schools. The graduates of 2-year programs are awarded with the Associate’s or Pre-Bachelor’s Degree (On Lisans Diplomasi).

Private or Foundation Universities (Ozel / Vakif Universiteleri): In Turkey, private foundations obtained the right in 1984 to establish and develop universities. They were established with the fundamental aim of creating a centre of excellence in higher education and research. Private universities take more active initiatives to form and to select international and global educational and research networks.

The medium of instruction in most private universities is English. Almost all have one year of English study for those whose level of English is not found to be proficient upon entrance.

Private universities charge tuition fee ranging from USD 6,000-20,000. Although private institutions, they offer considerable financial aid; more than 40% of all students receive some sort of financial aid.

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