Student exchange programs are continuing as part of the Greater Student Project, which was first implemented in 1992 among the Republic of Turkey, various Turkic republics and ethnically Turkic societies. Groups of students who come to Turkey to learn the language are determined by the Analysis Board of the Greater Student Project, which works to set out the details for the students' stay and registry with Turkish institutions of learning. Since 1994, a delegation comprising members from the Ministry of Education, the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) and the Higher Education Board (YÖK) have been selecting students who have taken the Turkish Republics and Related-Societies Exam (TCS).Students who take the TCS and then score high enough on the Turkish Proficiency Exam offered by the ÖSYM can receive an education in selected programs they will be placed in through YÖK. Students who do not score high on the proficiency test have the opportunity to study Turkish either in Turkey or at Turkish language centers in their own countries before re-taking the test.
Mongolian students in Bursa
Students chosen after doing well on the TCS are offered housing by the Turkish Student Loan and Accommodation Council, given TL 195 monthly for expenditures and have all their health-related expenses covered. After completing their education courses, the students can then take the Student Selection Examination for Foreigners (YÖS). Foreign students seeking to learn Turkish in Turkey can study the language at Ankara University's TÖMER institute or in other cities, if they wish.
Of the 100 students who recently arrived in Bursa as a part of the Greater Student Project, 25 are Mongolian. The Mongolian students will be studying Turkish at Bursa's TÖMER institute. The students have already said they like their new city and are pleased to be there. Many of the Mongolian students have also expressed the hope that they will be able to attend a university in Turkey after learning more Turkish.
