Students from 144 different countries in north Cyprus - Ersin Tatar

There are currently students from 144 different countries studying in north Cyprus’s universities, said TRNC president on Tuesday.

Tatar was speaking to Turkish online television channel OdaTV on Tuesday, Jan., 9 when he made te revelation. 

“Within the scope of the works we have been carrying out, everyone has learned that there is a country in the Eastern Mediterranean called the TRNC,” Tatar said.

The north is now home to a large student population, with over 20 universities currently operational.

Mayor of Lefkosia, Mehmet Harmanci said in November that half of his municipality’s population are university students.

“Within the borders of the Lefkcosia Turkish Municipality, there are 40,000 university students, which is half of the official population of our municipality and a third of our unofficial population,” he explained.

The sheer number of universities, and their reported questionable legitimacy, have been a source of controversy in the past.

Former TRNC Chief Negotiatior for the Cyprus problem Kudret Ozersay had said “some organisations are operating under the name of a ‘university’ and illegally bringing people into the country,” adding, “steps should be taken to close these organisations.

“It is also claimed that some people who come to the country under the guise of being students tried to enter the south illegally as a result of their universities not remaining in contact with their students,” he added.

The north’s Human Rights Platform (IHP), too, had warned of links between the north’s educational sector and human trafficking.

They said the TRNC’s authorities had been warned of the problems but noted that “when students arrive … there is no monitoring mechanism to follow their status here, whether they attend their universities, or if they find themselves in other dangerous or illegal situations, such as human trafficking.”