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The story of two Turkish women who came to study in Romania
Alexandra Mănăilă - Reporter
7 July 2014
The language barrier is the first obstacle faced by foreign students who come to study in Romania. But not the only one. They also face other obstacles, either because they do not know their rights, or because they often receive insufficient information from representatives of State institutions.
We learned the story of two students who came from Turkey to study at the Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti and the way they fought for the right to change the study programme for which they had initially applied, a right that they only discovered after a long while. They had the right to leave the foreign students' program, which meant a yearly fee of €2,700, and apply for the scholarship program, like their Romanian colleagues, after passing an exam.
Aysel and Azra (we shall not use their real names, in order to keep their anonymity) chose Romania for several reasons. "It is more expensive to study in Turkey. In our country, the fees start from €7,000 a year, while here the yearly fee is €2,700. And the Engineering degree is recognised in Turkey", the girls explained. Besides, the Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti is also recognised in Europe, therefore they could work in any European country.
This is how they first arrived in Romania, at Ploiesti, at the Petroleum and Gas University. Initially they enrolled in Management, they took a 3-month Romanian language course, they passed an exam, and then they paid for private lessons of Romanian, because they realised they could not do it otherwise. "Learning Romanian is very difficult. We cried as we studied. It took us a year to actually start speaking. At first we only listened", said Aysel.
Adapting was hard as well; the Turkish girls admitted that during the first year they did not adapt at all. "We didn't make any friends, we used to study all the time, at home and at school, like robots. The language was difficult, but the people too, they were cold, upset, always keeping their heads down", Azra told us. As a result, they did not like the atmosphere in their class, nor the attitude of certain professors, so after the first year of Management, the girls decided to switch to Mechanical Engineering.
They changed their field of study also because of the class atmosphere
When you study in a foreign country, far from home and friends, it is very important to find open, friendly, kind and helpful people. And in Mechanical Engineering they found a different class, with a very tight group of students. "Maybe it was also because we barely spoke the language, but the people in Management were very cold. The atmosphere was one of the reasons why we changed the field", confided Aysel.
Her compatriot Azra cannot help bringing up the fact that some Management professors were very rigid, which, given the inhospitable situation they were in, only made matters worse. "If you chose to come here, you need to speak Romanian", the Management professors told us. One professor even failed us, because we came from Turkey and given our common history... Here in Mechanical Engineering, the professors were kinder, they dictated more slowly for us, they explained better. The colleagues as well." If, during their first year at the university, the girls tended to seclude themselves, once they changed the field and the colleagues the following year, they became more sociable. Not only did they enjoy the transfer from Management, but they also chose to stay for a Master's degree.
The Faculty's foreign students department was always closed
Two years before the girls had also obtained a long-term residence permit, but they did not know that the right to permanent residence in Romania gave them the same access to education as for Romanian citizens. "Like any Romanian citizen, on the basis of passing an exam, you can even access the scholarship program", said Camelia Badea, the lawyer who helped the two students obtain this right.
Camelia Badea works for the Prahova Scientists' Foundation and volunteers in the Ploiesti Information Centre for Foreigners. She helped the girls obtain their rights. "We started a research after the girls graduated from the faculty. Usually, the universities' international relations departments do not do enough to help foreign students. The income benefited the University, but it was also a bit discriminatory. The University is not at all interested in giving this information, because it basically loses money by offering these facilities. But it obviously had this information when the girls accessed it, applied for the Master's program and took the admission exam. With excellent grades, they were admitted in the scholarship program and thus they left the foreign students' program, with a yearly fee of €2,700, and received a scholarship from the Romanian State. I thought this lack of transparency of an institution that was required to give that information was unfair. The foreign students department was always closed, those being the very people who were supposed to give these students the information they needed", lawyer Camelia Badea added. Without access to this information, the Turkish students had to pay some expenses that could have been avoided.
How they found out what rights they had...
"When we graduated, we were told at the secretariat that with a grade average above 8, we could have paid only half the fee. But at the Master's we had a grade average above 8 as well", said Aysel. At the thought that they could study for less money, that somehow this possibility existed, but they did not know it, they went to Camelia Badea for help. "The students needed someone else to study this issue for them. However, they were also a bit lucky, because the girls received a circular letter from the Education Ministry regarding the possibility of Romanian ethnics living abroad to register for the admission exam in order to come to study here. The letter had been sent to the secretariat. Thanks to a misunderstanding by the person at the applications office, we could register as well and bring the justification documents later. But usually, the answer to any such application was NO, with no further explanations. This opaque refusal, with no explanation whatsoever, makes you wonder if it isn't caused by antipathy, cultural differences, intolerance", mentioned lawyer Camelia Badea.
How Romanians see the Turks through the eyes of TV series
Asked about the differences between Romania and Turkey, Aysel and Azra only said: "It's just like Turkey, nothing is different, except that you people are cold!" The girls adapted to Romania and regardless of their options after they graduate (Aysel would like to stay and work in Romania, while Azra wants to return to her home country), they recommend other Turks to come study here. "I advise them to come study Engineering or Medicine, these are worth it."
As for the girls, they claim that Romanians have a wrong opinion about Turkish women. "People don't know that in Arabia and in Turkey there are working women and career women. They don't even believe we are Turkish. Especially since we know the language and we act like them. As for me, I started getting along better with Romanians, I got used to this country, I've already even made a Romanian friend", said Aysel, beaming with pride. "When we tell them we are Turkish, people become curious and they want to help us. Since Turkish TV series are being broadcast in Romania, we have noticed a better attitude from people. They are friendlier, they have helped us", said Azra, laughing.
At the Information Centre for foreigners, the girls were lucky to meet someone who not only helped them with information, but also went with them to various institutions. Camelia helped them deal with the University, the Education Ministry, the Police, the Health Insurance Fund, anything that required legal assistance. "People should be more helpful towards foreign students. There should be more transparency in giving information (...) coming from the Education Ministry. Ploiesti is one of several centres in Romania where every year there are Romanian language courses, but students usually arrive in groups of the same nationality and they are not encouraged to integrate with the others", believes Camelia Badea.
The two students learned one thing from their experience in Romania: you need more than a year, not just three months to learn the language, and you need someone to guide you through all the legal jungle, so that you can exercise your rights.
We learned the story of two students who came from Turkey to study at the Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti and the way they fought for the right to change the study programme for which they had initially applied, a right that they only discovered after a long while. They had the right to leave the foreign students' program, which meant a yearly fee of €2,700, and apply for the scholarship program, like their Romanian colleagues, after passing an exam.
Aysel and Azra (we shall not use their real names, in order to keep their anonymity) chose Romania for several reasons. "It is more expensive to study in Turkey. In our country, the fees start from €7,000 a year, while here the yearly fee is €2,700. And the Engineering degree is recognised in Turkey", the girls explained. Besides, the Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti is also recognised in Europe, therefore they could work in any European country.
This is how they first arrived in Romania, at Ploiesti, at the Petroleum and Gas University. Initially they enrolled in Management, they took a 3-month Romanian language course, they passed an exam, and then they paid for private lessons of Romanian, because they realised they could not do it otherwise. "Learning Romanian is very difficult. We cried as we studied. It took us a year to actually start speaking. At first we only listened", said Aysel.
Adapting was hard as well; the Turkish girls admitted that during the first year they did not adapt at all. "We didn't make any friends, we used to study all the time, at home and at school, like robots. The language was difficult, but the people too, they were cold, upset, always keeping their heads down", Azra told us. As a result, they did not like the atmosphere in their class, nor the attitude of certain professors, so after the first year of Management, the girls decided to switch to Mechanical Engineering.
They changed their field of study also because of the class atmosphere
When you study in a foreign country, far from home and friends, it is very important to find open, friendly, kind and helpful people. And in Mechanical Engineering they found a different class, with a very tight group of students. "Maybe it was also because we barely spoke the language, but the people in Management were very cold. The atmosphere was one of the reasons why we changed the field", confided Aysel.
Her compatriot Azra cannot help bringing up the fact that some Management professors were very rigid, which, given the inhospitable situation they were in, only made matters worse. "If you chose to come here, you need to speak Romanian", the Management professors told us. One professor even failed us, because we came from Turkey and given our common history... Here in Mechanical Engineering, the professors were kinder, they dictated more slowly for us, they explained better. The colleagues as well." If, during their first year at the university, the girls tended to seclude themselves, once they changed the field and the colleagues the following year, they became more sociable. Not only did they enjoy the transfer from Management, but they also chose to stay for a Master's degree.
The Faculty's foreign students department was always closed
Two years before the girls had also obtained a long-term residence permit, but they did not know that the right to permanent residence in Romania gave them the same access to education as for Romanian citizens. "Like any Romanian citizen, on the basis of passing an exam, you can even access the scholarship program", said Camelia Badea, the lawyer who helped the two students obtain this right.
Camelia Badea works for the Prahova Scientists' Foundation and volunteers in the Ploiesti Information Centre for Foreigners. She helped the girls obtain their rights. "We started a research after the girls graduated from the faculty. Usually, the universities' international relations departments do not do enough to help foreign students. The income benefited the University, but it was also a bit discriminatory. The University is not at all interested in giving this information, because it basically loses money by offering these facilities. But it obviously had this information when the girls accessed it, applied for the Master's program and took the admission exam. With excellent grades, they were admitted in the scholarship program and thus they left the foreign students' program, with a yearly fee of €2,700, and received a scholarship from the Romanian State. I thought this lack of transparency of an institution that was required to give that information was unfair. The foreign students department was always closed, those being the very people who were supposed to give these students the information they needed", lawyer Camelia Badea added. Without access to this information, the Turkish students had to pay some expenses that could have been avoided.
How they found out what rights they had...
"When we graduated, we were told at the secretariat that with a grade average above 8, we could have paid only half the fee. But at the Master's we had a grade average above 8 as well", said Aysel. At the thought that they could study for less money, that somehow this possibility existed, but they did not know it, they went to Camelia Badea for help. "The students needed someone else to study this issue for them. However, they were also a bit lucky, because the girls received a circular letter from the Education Ministry regarding the possibility of Romanian ethnics living abroad to register for the admission exam in order to come to study here. The letter had been sent to the secretariat. Thanks to a misunderstanding by the person at the applications office, we could register as well and bring the justification documents later. But usually, the answer to any such application was NO, with no further explanations. This opaque refusal, with no explanation whatsoever, makes you wonder if it isn't caused by antipathy, cultural differences, intolerance", mentioned lawyer Camelia Badea.
How Romanians see the Turks through the eyes of TV series
Asked about the differences between Romania and Turkey, Aysel and Azra only said: "It's just like Turkey, nothing is different, except that you people are cold!" The girls adapted to Romania and regardless of their options after they graduate (Aysel would like to stay and work in Romania, while Azra wants to return to her home country), they recommend other Turks to come study here. "I advise them to come study Engineering or Medicine, these are worth it."
As for the girls, they claim that Romanians have a wrong opinion about Turkish women. "People don't know that in Arabia and in Turkey there are working women and career women. They don't even believe we are Turkish. Especially since we know the language and we act like them. As for me, I started getting along better with Romanians, I got used to this country, I've already even made a Romanian friend", said Aysel, beaming with pride. "When we tell them we are Turkish, people become curious and they want to help us. Since Turkish TV series are being broadcast in Romania, we have noticed a better attitude from people. They are friendlier, they have helped us", said Azra, laughing.
At the Information Centre for foreigners, the girls were lucky to meet someone who not only helped them with information, but also went with them to various institutions. Camelia helped them deal with the University, the Education Ministry, the Police, the Health Insurance Fund, anything that required legal assistance. "People should be more helpful towards foreign students. There should be more transparency in giving information (...) coming from the Education Ministry. Ploiesti is one of several centres in Romania where every year there are Romanian language courses, but students usually arrive in groups of the same nationality and they are not encouraged to integrate with the others", believes Camelia Badea.
The two students learned one thing from their experience in Romania: you need more than a year, not just three months to learn the language, and you need someone to guide you through all the legal jungle, so that you can exercise your rights.
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