Turkey has witnessed a robust growth in the number of English-language international schools, registering an increase of 40 per cent over the last five years, said a report.

From just 84 in 2013, the number of English-language, K-12 international schools in the country has increased to 118 this year, with a total of 69,600 students and 8,200 full-time teaching staff, according to ISC Research, a leading supplier of data and intelligence on the English-medium K-12 international schools market.

The report comes ahead of the second edition of the GESS Turkey education conference and exhibition that will take place from October 25 to 27 at the WOW Istanbul Convention Centre.

“The steady growth of international schools in Turkey affirms the country’s rising appeal as a global education hub,” said Sarah Palmer, the marketing and conference director, Tarsus F&E Middle East, the event organisers.

“We organised the inaugural edition of the show last year to provide a platform for companies from all over the world to connect with decision makers from schools to meet an equally increasing demand for various products and solutions to help teaching professionals deliver quality education to a growing student population.”

Alongside the exhibition component of the show, GESS Turkey features a conference packed with useful workshops and presentations from leading education gurus locally and internationally, providing the latest advances in teaching, curriculum development as well as management and leadership strategies for teachers and school administrators.

The English-medium, international schools market in Turkey is currently generating revenues of $622 million from tuition fee income, according to the report.

“This represents a very good opportunity for anyone seeking to provide services and solutions relevant to the development needs of schools in Turkey,” stated Palmer.

A crucial factor that will support the continued growth of international schools in Turkey will be the recruitment of quality education professionals to fill teaching positions that will be required because of the expected increase in demand, she noted.

"Most teachers at international schools in Turkey are local teachers. The most popular expatriate teachers are North American (19 per cent of the international school teaching population) and British (7 per cent of the teaching population),” revealed Diane Glass, the commercial director at ISC Research.

“The expatriate teachers and leaders who have experienced a wide range of education supplies in past teaching jobs are particularly influential in identifying resources that would be beneficial in their classrooms,” she added.-TradeArabia News Service