Private school

Recently, the education giant Inspired announced the acquisition of the Kostea-Geitona schools and plans for developments in the Elliniko area. Many wondered about the Lebanese-British powerhouse behind Inspired who made this super deal. But for Nadim Nsouli, founder, chairman, and CEO of Inspired, this isn’t new.

The start of the school year marked the ringing of the bell… for an investment barrage from domestic and international players alike, who are rushing to position themselves in one space after another.

Domestic and international funds have been investing in the buying of well-known private schools, especially in Attica and Thessaloniki. The trend has been triggered by growing demand for private schools. Hellenic Statistical Authority data show the numbers of students at private schools have been rising over the last three years.

Private schools in Türkiye have set jaw-dropping registration fees for the upcoming 2024-2025 academic year, rivaling prestigious institutions around the world, such as Oxford, Harvard and Yale.

The debate between private schools and parents about increasing fees has reignited with the start of the new year.

According to the criteria that "No increase may exceed the figure obtained by dividing the sum of the previous year's PPI and CPI by two and adding five points," there will be an increase of approximately 60 percent in private school fees in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Istanbul Municipality's Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME) has approved a new regulation aimed at curbing the soaring school bus fees, ensuring that prices remain in line with the tariff set by the center.

Following the high school entrance exams, millions of students are in a hurry to enroll in their desired schools while many of them are actively seeking scholarships from institutions.

The 65 percent ceiling increase in private schools' tuition fees would put the sector in trouble, sector representatives say, noting that 3,000 schools will be closed 30,000 teachers will be unemployed at the end of the year if there is no incentive.

Türkiye's competition watchdog has decided to launch an investigation against five private French high schools in Istanbul and eight other schools in Ankara, following the allegations that some schools had increased their fees more than the determined rate.

As some private schools exceed the 65 percent ceiling fee increase rate determined by the Education Ministry for the new year or go for exorbitant price increases for additional services such as meals and books, parents demand schools to be audited.