The DEM Party’s Education Policies Commission has called for the abolition of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), established in the aftermath of the military coup of 12 September 1980, and for universities to be finally free from that legacy.
In a written statement, the DEM Party’s Education Policies Commission called for the abolition of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), a vestige of the 12 September 1980 military coup.
The statement said: “Established on 6 November 1981, in the aftermath of the 12 September military coup, the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) has continued for 45 years to be one of the principal institutions through which a centralised and tutelary system of governance is imposed on universities.”
The statement noted that, particularly under AKP rule, this structure had become one of the instruments through which the political authorities intervened in university affairs, and added: “It is unacceptable that young people are pushed out of politics, that their freedoms of association and expression are restricted, and that universities are transformed into institutions that produce obedient individuals. Young people are not merely the social and political actors of the future; they are actors in society and politics today.”
The DEM Commission outlined the kind of university it envisions as follows:
“A university in which YÖK is abolished, and centralised tutelage comes to an end; in which rectors are elected through the democratic will of the university community; in which academic and scientific freedom is guaranteed; in which students, academics and university workers have a voice and a role in decision-making. A university founded on education in one’s mother tongue, pluralism, equality and a libertarian understanding of secularism and in which education is organised around the public interest rather than market demands.”
The statement concluded: “On the anniversary of YÖK’s establishment, we reiterate once again: universities are not ideological instruments of those in power, nor are they institutions to be shaped according to the needs of capital. Academic freedom is one of the fundamental conditions for the democratisation of society. End the trustee-appointed administration model, political tutelage and academic repression! Abolish YÖK! Establish autonomous, democratic, free and public universities! Let young people have a say! Let universities be free!”
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