Foreign applications for student funding in Turkey soar

ANKARA

The number of foreign students applying for financial support in Turkey in the last three years has more than doubled, officials said Monday.

More than 55,100 students from 165 countries applied for a scholarship from the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) in 2013.

Last year, that figure rose to 120,000 from 172 countries.

Nearly 16,000 foreign students in Turkey are currently receiving a YTB scholarship. Last year, 1,425 Syrian students received funding.

Reporting by Nazli Yuzbasioglu; Writing by Sibel Ugurlu