Academic staff furious
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 08, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Turkey’s Higher Education Council informs rectors that faculty members need permission to be part of managing boards of professional associations. Many professional organizations regard YÖK’s decision as illegal and unconstitutional and are looking to seek redress in court.
Uproar erupted among professional associations after Turkey’s Higher Education Council, or YÖK, issued a decree saying faculty members’ participation in any association’s managerial board will be dependent on official permission.
Engineers, veterinarians, doctors, pharmacists and many other members of associations objected to the decree and said freedom of association was in danger.
"You can expect just anything from YÖK. The decree runs counter to our founding laws," president of the Turkish Veterinary Medicals Association, or TVHB, Mehmet Alkan, said Tuesday, speaking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
YÖK Vice-chair Professor İzzet Özgenç sent the decision to university rectors on Nov. 17, and said all faculty members needed to be tasked by YÖK to be able to take part in professional organizations.
"The law on the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, or TMMOB, which is 54-years-old, obliges all architects and engineers to become members of related professional associations. YÖK’s decision is void from a legal point of view," said TMMOB President Mehmet Soğancı, speaking to the Daily News.
"The decision is a testimony to how badly YÖK is directed. We asked for a meeting with YÖK, but we have still not received an answer," Soğancı said, adding that they will take the matter to court if their call to Turkey’s higher education watchdog remains unanswered.
Turkish Dental Association, or TDB, President Murat Akkaya, who is also a faculty member at Ankara University, said the YÖK decision had no legal standing. "YÖK argues that a faculty member needs to be tasked by itself first. I have no such obligation. My work at TDB is voluntary and unpaid. If YÖK requests that I ask permission, I will object to the request," Akkaya told the Daily News.
The Turkish Medical Association, or TTB, is also preparing to take the decision to court. "YÖK has no right to restrict freedom of association and political rights of faculty members. The decision does not have any legal basis," said TTB General Secretary Eriş Bilaloğlu.
’Decision irrelevant from a legal point’
Faculty members merely had to inform their faculty administrations of their duties in nongovernmental organizations before the YÖK decision.
"Nowhere in the TVHB law are directors required to get permission from anyone. Our directors and board members, whether they work in a university faculty or for a ministry, are automatically allowed to participate in their activities with professional organizations. Professors are not paid here. If they were, YÖK law’s article 38 might require them to get permission," Alkan said.
Ankara University Veterinary Faculty Professor Arif Altıntaş, who is also the TVHB vice-president, said his work in the association was unpaid. "Not only are we not paid for our duties, we meet the costs related to our work at the association ourselves," Altıntaş said.
The YÖK ruling might be hazardous to the smooth functioning of professional organizations, for which academic knowledge is of paramount importance. "Professional associations cannot depend on retired professors or freelance professionals. A constant link with universities is vital," Altıntaş said.
Another point in the objections is the impediment on the right of freedom of association, both Altıntaş and Alkan said.
"But we have to wait and see what YÖK’s decision will mean in practice," Altıntaş said.
Engineers, veterinarians, doctors, pharmacists and many other members of associations objected to the decree and said freedom of association was in danger.
"You can expect just anything from YÖK. The decree runs counter to our founding laws," president of the Turkish Veterinary Medicals Association, or TVHB, Mehmet Alkan, said Tuesday, speaking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
YÖK Vice-chair Professor İzzet Özgenç sent the decision to university rectors on Nov. 17, and said all faculty members needed to be tasked by YÖK to be able to take part in professional organizations.
"The law on the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, or TMMOB, which is 54-years-old, obliges all architects and engineers to become members of related professional associations. YÖK’s decision is void from a legal point of view," said TMMOB President Mehmet Soğancı, speaking to the Daily News.
"The decision is a testimony to how badly YÖK is directed. We asked for a meeting with YÖK, but we have still not received an answer," Soğancı said, adding that they will take the matter to court if their call to Turkey’s higher education watchdog remains unanswered.
Turkish Dental Association, or TDB, President Murat Akkaya, who is also a faculty member at Ankara University, said the YÖK decision had no legal standing. "YÖK argues that a faculty member needs to be tasked by itself first. I have no such obligation. My work at TDB is voluntary and unpaid. If YÖK requests that I ask permission, I will object to the request," Akkaya told the Daily News.
The Turkish Medical Association, or TTB, is also preparing to take the decision to court. "YÖK has no right to restrict freedom of association and political rights of faculty members. The decision does not have any legal basis," said TTB General Secretary Eriş Bilaloğlu.
’Decision irrelevant from a legal point’
Faculty members merely had to inform their faculty administrations of their duties in nongovernmental organizations before the YÖK decision.
"Nowhere in the TVHB law are directors required to get permission from anyone. Our directors and board members, whether they work in a university faculty or for a ministry, are automatically allowed to participate in their activities with professional organizations. Professors are not paid here. If they were, YÖK law’s article 38 might require them to get permission," Alkan said.
Ankara University Veterinary Faculty Professor Arif Altıntaş, who is also the TVHB vice-president, said his work in the association was unpaid. "Not only are we not paid for our duties, we meet the costs related to our work at the association ourselves," Altıntaş said.
The YÖK ruling might be hazardous to the smooth functioning of professional organizations, for which academic knowledge is of paramount importance. "Professional associations cannot depend on retired professors or freelance professionals. A constant link with universities is vital," Altıntaş said.
Another point in the objections is the impediment on the right of freedom of association, both Altıntaş and Alkan said.
"But we have to wait and see what YÖK’s decision will mean in practice," Altıntaş said.