Turkish academy in crisis: Erosion in the higher education

There used to be universities in Türkiye. I say ‘used to’ because universities in Türkiye have now become institutions that have lost their value and deviated from their purpose.

In my recent interview on my radio program Antroposen Sohbetler (Anthropocene Conversations) on Açık Radio, I hosted journalist journalist Tuğba Tekerek. Our focus in the interview was on universities in Türkiye, which are often perceived as a complex issue and considered to have lost their value. Tuğba Tekerek’s book titled “Taşra Üniversiteleri – AK Parti’nin arka kampüsü” published in 2023, questions the current university inflation we are experiencing in the context of ‘devaluation’ and provides a broad perspective on provincial universities, covering everything from courses to student clubs, dormitories to campus mosques.

In this text, I have attempted to present the main ideas of the topics we discussed during the interview under different headings. However, first, I must clarify what the university means in a universal sense.

What is “University”?

A university is a significant and complex topic on its own, and in our country, it has become even more complex. Therefore, summarizing its definition and the perception of universities in Türkiye may not be straightforward. Generally, the university is one of the most valuable institutions in modern societies because it carries a significant mission in terms of knowledge production with its faculties, institutes, colleges, and similar research units. This institution not only conducts advanced teaching activities but also generates new knowledge through scientific research. Moreover, it has “scientific autonomy” and legal personality in the public domain. The university reform in Türkiye in 1933 served as a starting point for a deep understanding of this complex issue in our country. The preparations before the reform began with the observations of Professor Albert Malche, who was invited to Türkiye in 1932 to analyze Darülfünun, and focusing on these observations would be appropriate to understand the first steps of the reform and evaluate where we stand today.

Observations of Professor Albert Malche

Professor Albert Malche is a pedagogy professor at the University of Geneva. Invited to Türkiye after the establishment of the Republic, he was considered a scientist who could not adapt to the reforms and contribute to the development of the new Türkiye in Darülfünun. His observations revealed interesting results. At that time, there were approximately 250 academicians at Darülfünun in Türkiye. However, Malche emphasized something unprecedented in Türkiye: the inclusion of teachers (muallim and müderris) as part of Darülfünun. In addition to pointing out the lack of scientific publications and the need for university academicians to take on additional jobs, he highlighted the contradiction in Darülfünun being under the Ministry of National Education, which did not align with scientific autonomy. In his second report prepared after returning to his country, he suggested not including “merchant professors” (those more involved in trade than science) or “translator professors” (those who teach by translating books) in the university to be established after Darülfünun.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s evaluation of Darülfünun

Reviewing the Malche Report dated May 29, 1932, Atatürk found the number of faculty members at Darülfünun excessive and qualitatively inadequate. He noted, “There is no teaching method that stimulates personal opinion and research. Encyclopedic information is provided.” Thus, Atatürk temporarily supported the removal of autonomy and a rapid overhaul. Eventually, the first faculty of Istanbul University was formed from those remaining at Darülfünun, young individuals educated in Europe, and foreign professors invited from Germany. Thus, the Ministry of National Education aimed to establish a close collaboration between the university and the Republic’s revolutions. At the same time, it aimed to involve the university in solving the country’s problems. The first steps towards a turn to contemporary science were taken in 1933. In other words, a system that enhances creativity in thinking and knowledge production in higher education was established.

Academic staff since the 1930s: From 250 to 200 thousand

Malche emphasized the necessity of reducing the number of academicians and shifting the focus to research, but despite expressing the importance of this change, he did not specify how to achieve it. He emphasized the need for a system in universities that encourages student participation in research and argued that universities should not only focus on teaching but also be a place where discussions about professors’ research take place. All these seemed promising, but the picture we see today is quite different from the fundamental goals of that period. It is noteworthy that the number of personnel with academic titles under the heading of “faculty members” has reached almost 200,000 today.

While the academy, shaped by purges from about 250 academicians, tried to create limited and qualified staff in the aftermath, today we find ourselves in a country with dozens of “universities” shaped by a hard-to-believe number of academic staff. In a period where policies that cannot distinguish between quantity and quality crush the quality with quantity, undoubtedly a deteriorating university environment is at stake. A recent article by Lale Akarun vividly illustrates the current situation of Boğaziçi University, one of our country’s prestigious universities.

University is aow an “Advanced High School” (or is it?)

It would not be wrong to say that under the policy of devaluation, the university has turned into an advanced high school today. It seems that we, as faculty members, are working like staff trying to compensate for the deficiencies of secondary education in a country where almost every secondary school student can enter university. Therefore, today, the university is evolving into something different in our country, falling behind the great reform of 1933 and deviating from its universal definition.

Students graduate without any learning anything

In her book ‘Provincial Universities,’ Tuğba Tekerek gave the example of the Molecular Biology Department in Bartın and drew attention to students being accepted to this department scoring zero points in biology, chemistry, and physics tests in the Higher Education Institutions Exam.

Tuğba repeats the question she posed in the book during our interview: ‘How can you teach molecular biology to a student with zero knowledge? How can this student get a diploma?’ However, these students do indeed receive their diplomas. Tuğba mentioned that many students, when they fail, often complain about the faculty member to the Presidential Communication Center (CİMER), and somehow facilities are provided to graduate these individuals. This has become a widespread practice. In recent times, the passing grade limit has also been removed, and after its removal, grades have further decreased.

Graduating from a literature department without reading a book

A professor from the Turkish Language and Literature Department told Tuğba Tekerek, ‘When they come here, they haven’t read a single book. While I try to make them read a book when they graduate, I often fail.’

On the other hand, a Molecular Biology professor was talking about something else: ‘The most important motivation for being able to teach a course is that the student is learning. However, if the student is not learning, if the student does not have the capacity to absorb knowledge, if there is no interest, and if the interest and curiosity have completely atrophied until then, what can the faculty member explain to that student?’

Another professor’s statement: ‘We act like we are lecturing; students pretend to listen, but they are not listening.’ There is no real learning process in the university today. We don’t know if the student is learning or not. In fact, as the professor said, acting like we are lecturing and students pretending to listen clearly reveals the severity of the situation.

A University for Every City?

Especially the university must be a free environment, as you mentioned, where we can easily discuss, learn, or research many topics and collaborate freely. However, while trying to gain and develop these characteristics, it seems that we have suddenly lost them. The idea of having a university in every city has become a well-established policy. For a long time, universities have been opening in every city and even every district in our country with the approach of the political power. Currently, there are more than 200 universities in Türkiye. So, what could be the real purpose of opening a university in every city in our country? Based on the book ‘Provincial Universities’ and our interview, we can attempt to answer this question with an economic approach.

Economic Dimension

When I asked Tuğba about this, her response, based on her research, was quite striking:

‘There is a situation of opening a university in every province, in several provinces, and even in districts. For example, I would like to mention the Fashion Design Vocational School in Şebinkarahisar. Şebinkarahisar is three hours away from Giresun city center. It is a place reached by winding roads between the hills. I had calculated at that time, and I think one in every seven people in the district was a student. In other words, the district is losing population. They are trying to compensate for the outgoing population with incoming students and teach fashion design here. However, a university has been opened in a place where it is not possible for students to find fabric, accessories, establish connections with the industry, and do internships.

Why are universities opened in such places? So that the tradesmen in Şebinkarahisar can earn money! Then, AK Party politicians say, ‘Look, we brought students to you, we improved the economy of the district.’ One of the significant factors in this situation is to create economic activity in districts.

I want to mention another example here. Giresun University was delayed in opening for three weeks at one time, and the Giresun Hoteliers and Cafeterias Association objected to this. They say, ‘This year, the hazelnut yield was already bad. There is no money circulation in our city except for students. Therefore, the administration, the university administration, needs to review this decision and think about what we want.’ They are trying to replace the money brought by students instead of the hazelnut yield. This understanding and such a system exist. The first is the economic part. Additionally, there is another economic dimension, such as construction tenders and transferring money to major capital owners.”

Political Dimension: Raising Religious and Nationalist Generations

Moreover, employment is provided in these universities. Tuğba mentioned in our interview that a lottery is held for the selection of cleaning staff for universities, and she emphasizes that the rector speaks during the hiring of a cleaner in a university.

“Imagine a situation where a cleaning staff hiring event is held at a university where the university rector speaks. Then lucky candidates are selected through interviews. If the candidate is close to the political power, the likelihood of being hired is higher,” she explains.

Tuğba also points out the second important factor: the need for intellectuals, or in quotes, “professors,” to speak in line with the AK Party in every province of the country. These individuals will undoubtedly collect information from the field, collect information on the Kurdish issue and women’s issues, and filter this information as much as their perspectives allow. Then they will act within an ideology close to the AK Party. In this way, the most important thing is to raise a religious and nationalist generation.

Current Issues and Solutions for the Future

Although the Republic of Türkiye showed a positive trend in its journey into the university world 90 years ago, unfortunately, where we are today is the events I tried to summarize with this interview, the events I tried to explain above, and different versions of these events. Some of these events are close to the stories of Aziz Nesin, and some are almost beyond these stories. We are in a period of “devaluation” beyond the truth that defines the place of communities in our education policy and tries to legitimize these communities. The situation is not good at all, so what is the solution; maybe going back to the beginning and making another reform with the same principles could be an option. But one thing is certain: first of all, we need to reform secondary education and provide an opportunity for students entering university to receive education based on objective principles before higher education.

My interview with Tuğba was a very productive conversation. Our interview will be broadcast on December 26, 2023, at 19:00 on Açık Radyo. This article serves as a summary of that interview. I strongly recommend listening to the interview. Of course, I also recommend the book titled ‘Provincial Universities – AK Party’s Back Campus’ to everyone reading this.”