University officials in Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) said the interest is due to the agreements for co-operation signed with institutions of higher learning in Turkey but also the strength of relations between their countries.
There are 282 students from Turkey attending the International University in Struga studying information technology and law, while 230 students study at the medical faculty at Shtip University.
While the education ministry does not keep statistics -- each university keeps student body breakdown by nationality -- the number of Turkish students has increased at Shtip University by more than two thirds in the past three years, said Nazime Merko, university spokeswoman and head of the finance department.
"[The figure] is similar to other universities in Macedonia and the Balkans that are recognised by Turkey," Merko told SETimes.
Because of the high interest, Shtip University has prepared the coursework in Turkish and ensured that one third of the instructors are from Turkey, Merko said.
"The arrival of Turkish students in Macedonia is the result of accrediting that our university received from the higher education board in Turkey, which placed us at the list of universities that Turkey accepts," Merko added.
Merko said the accreditation provided the basis for signing bilateral co-operation agreements with Turkish schools, including Trakya and Ordu universities.
The first Turkish investment in higher education in Macedonia was Balkan University in 2008, where more than 700 students study in a coursework in English.
Turkish students increasingly attend Balkan universities, 19 November 2013
Lass mal die antike makedonische Geschichte das sein was sie ist: hellenisch. Ihr Slawen wart zu Zeiten Alexanders nicht auf dem Balkan anwesend. Ganz einfach ...
