A Moldovan-Turkish college named after Erdogan could be opened in Comrat
Young people from Gagauzia will have the opportunity to study information technologies, electronics, and electromechanics at home. The government plans to vote on August 5 to establish a Moldovan-Turkish college in Comrat, named after the current President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This institution will be created based on the cooperation agreement signed between Moldova and Ankara in the area of vocational and technical education.
According to the project's explanatory memorandum, currently, there is no public post-secondary vocational education institution specialized in technical fields in the Gagauz Autonomous Region. This gap limits young people's access to modern vocational training programs and reduces opportunities for regional economic development. At the national level, employers have been reporting for years an acute shortage of qualified specialists in electronics, electromechanics and information technologies, especially in regions outside Chisinau.
National statistical data show that in the 2025-2026 academic year, about 34,600 students were enrolled in post-secondary vocational education, with an increase of 3.9% compared to the previous year. The most demanded fields are information technologies, engineering and electronics.
The college will offer four vocational training programs, established by mutual agreement between the relevant ministries of Moldova and Turkey. These are computer networks, with the qualification of technical support technician, programming and testing of software products, with the qualification of programmer, electromechanics, with the qualification of electromechanic technician, and electronics, with the qualification of electronics technician. The parties found that the programs identified in the educational system of Moldova and those of Turkey do not present significant differences, and the vocational training component is similar, at about 80%.
How many students will study and how much does it cost
About 60 students are enrolled annually. The average cost of training per student is estimated at approximately 30,000 lei per year, which means that the institution's funding will gradually increase: about 1.8 million lei in 2026, 3.6 million in 2027, 5.4 million in 2028 and 7.2 million lei in 2029.
For the first year, funding will be provided from the allocations already approved by the State Budget Law for the subprogram "Post-secondary vocational technical education", without additional sources. The institution's infrastructure is to be developed and modernized within the framework of Moldovan-Turkish bilateral cooperation, which will reduce the pressure on the public budget for initial investments.
The Ministry of Education and Research will appoint an interim director and annually approve the admission plan until accreditation for the study programs is obtained. The project provides for a temporary derogation from the usual external quality assessment procedure to allow the start of educational activity immediately after its establishment.
The college will be included in the list of vocational education institutions subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Research. The decision will enter into force one month after its publication in the Official Gazette.
