Govt's great blow to academia: job protection completely lifted

The latest blow by the ruling AKP to the academia through a new resolution brings along destruction of job security in favour of the capital and nepotism in favour of its political supporters
Protesters hold a banner which reads "Universities will not surrender to tyranny, oppression, AKP government."
Wednesday, 07 June 2017 06:03

The latest blow by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to the academia through a new resolution brings along pro-market reforms to the Turkish academia which has been experiencing serious problems for a long time.

The new attack of the ruling AKP to the academia through a new resolution brings along destruction of job security in favour of the capital and nepotism in favour of its political supporters.

The Turkish academics have been experiencing serious problems, especially after the witch-hunt that had started following the failed coup in July 2016. Since then several progressivist academics have been fired through the decrees of the government that have no judicial remedy.

According to the declaration of Eğitim-sen (Education and Science Workers' Union), the AKP government ‘wants to gradually bring to being the higher education resolution that it had initiated in 2012 and had frozen later on.’ The measures that will be carried into effect have already been partially applied by foundation universities of Turkey, which are supposed not to make profits but de facto act as private universities.

According to the new resolution that is planned to be enacted on January 1, 2018, the research assistants will be appointed through a law that imposes flexible and precarious employment. 

Only one out of five assistants will be appointed as assistant professors after completing the PhD, in accordance with the criteria determined by the university senates and the YÖK (Council of Higher Education). This will pave the way for nepotism in favour of the AKP supporters.

The postdoctoral research status that comes along with new resolution will enforce the flexible and precarious employment of academicians by rendering their future uncertain. The postdoctoral researchers will be appointed for a maximum of three years while their total number should not exceed 5% of all the lecturers in a given certain higher education institution.

The master’s and PhD students will be employed through ‘scholarships’ by imposing flexible and precarious employment.

The senior students in sciences and engineering will have to spend an obligatory one-semester in private companies, technoparks, research infrastructures etc. by only being paid 35 percent of the minimum wage in Turkey.

The faculty members will have the right to work until the age of 75, however, those who have the right for that will be decided by the presidents of the universities, who are directly appointed by YÖK and the President of the Republic. This will de facto bring along an implicit ‘acceptability’ criterion.