Higher Education in Turkey

Abstract

The system of higher education in Turkey displays many formal parallels with that of Egypt. Both societies have attempted to develop universities modelled on those of the West but in conditions which are entirely unfavourable for the success of such developments. Except in the case of a few institutions internationally recognised for their research and teaching the universities of Egypt and Turkey, though straining towards a Western ideal, fall far short of realising it. In the course of seeking such recognition they may well have contributed less effectively to the development of the two societies than had been hoped. The failure of higher education institutions in the two societies to meet the goals that have been set for them cannot only be attributed to weaknesses in the universities themselves, although these do matter; the failure is an aspect of the structures of underdevelopment of the societies in which they have grown.