KOCAELİ - Describing the current situation of the universities, Academic Ömer Faruk Özdemir said: "The universities today can be described by the academic robes under police boots in Ankara University and the handcuffs on the gates of Boğaziçi University."

 

The protests of the students against the appointed rector, whom they define as the 'Trustee rector' continues on its 15th day. The protests students launched demanding the resignation of all rectors appointed by the government, continues as a sit in, in front of the Rectorate building and as the protests spreaded to the country, most universities in Turkey now have the same demands.

 

Noting that appointing rectors to universities instead of holding elections damages the autonomous structure of the universities, academics stands with the students from day one. We talked with Ömer Faruk Özdemir, Kocaeli Branch Secretary of Education and Science Workers Union (Eğitim Sen) and Research Assistant of Kocaeli University Labor Economics Department, about the rector appointments and the role of the Higher Education Council (YÖK) in universities.

 

PRESIDENT APPOINTS WHOMEVER HE WANTS TO WHICHEVER UNIVERSITY HE WANTS

 

Stating that not all university components were able to elect their rectors even before the appointment of rectors, Özdemir said the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) submitted the highest number of votes from the university elections to the Presidency and the elected rector was appointed from the Presidency. Özdemir said: "We say that the President appointed whomever he wanted instead of those who won the election lately. With the elections eliminated, the President now can appoint whomever he sees closer to him without any interruption."

 

AUTONOMY OF THE ACADEMY

 

The most fundamental thing that makes universities what they should be, is the autonomy of the university. Underlining that this autonomy lies at the basis of science or scientific studies, Özdemir said: “If there is no autonomy, it is not possible to talk about scientific freedom or scientific work there. To make an appointment is having that university under control. It means that the decisions to be taken will be taken by the institution making the appointment. Which is to take the universities under the control of the political power."

 

'SEPTEMBER 12 WAS BETTER THAN THIS'

 

Emphasizing that one of the most important promises of the AKP before it came to power was to abolish YÖK, Özdemir said: "We now understand that instead of abolishing the YÖK, they wanted to take it under their control. Even though AKP is following the footsteps of those who staged the September 12 coup, they proved to be worse."

 

PHOTOS OF ATTACKS AGAINST UNIVERSITIES

 

Recalling that thousands of academics were dismissed from universities with law decrees following the July 15 coup attempt, Özdemir underlined that basing the system on merits is no longer a thing. Stating that the government dismissed these academics in order to be able to control the universities, Özdemir said: "The most symbolic proof of this is the photos of the protest of the academics in Ankara University. When the academics laid their robes in front of the gates of the university, we saw that the police walked all over them with their boots, just like the police locking the gates of Boğaziçi University with handcuffs. Those two photos shows where the universities stand today."

 

RECTORS ARE REPRESANTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENT

 

Stating that it is not a new thing that people from the AKP are being appointed as rectors, Özdemir said: "Actually, the issue is not whether an academic is involved in politics or not. What stands out here is that these people appointed to the universities are administrators in one party. When people who are involved in politics in AKP lines are appointed as rectors, they continue the same politics in universities. They act not as administrators of the university, but as representatives of the political power."

 

 

MA/ Kadir Güney