Anatolian universities growing fast, seeking more autonomy

Mardin Artuklu University (Photo: Today's Zaman) 11 June 2013 /SEVG AKAREME, STANBUL

The unprecedented growth in the number and spread of universities all over Turkey, and particularly in Anatolia, has been welcomed by academia with cautious appreciation as it takes time to establish full-fledged and institutionalized universities. New universities are cherished for the diversity and

economic benefits they provide to the small towns in which they are founded, while they are criticized for a lack of high academic standards and competent and sufficient faculty members. The dependence on the Higher Education Board (YK) and the lack of autonomy the universities have as a result are unanimously cited as the main problems that not only new, but all universities suffer from. Although the surge to open universities in each province of Turkey started during the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments, the idea of establishing universities in Anatolia dates back to the 1960s. The number of universities during the AK Party era rose from 80 to 170, while more are awaiting the completion of the procedures in order to start teaching. In breaking up the numbers of universities according to their year of establishment,

a pattern emerges: Almost all universities were opened during the single-party governments of conservative parties in Turkey. Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who was executed following the military coup in 1960, late President Turgut zal and current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan stand out as the heads of governments behind the steps to increase the number of universities throughout the country. Academic and Today's Zaman columnist Dr. Gkhan Back says: Expanding the base of the state has been the roadmap of conservative politics in Turkey. Late President zal, executed Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, former President Sleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Erdoan all wanted to expand the state to Anatolia. According to Back, the project to increase the number of universities could be seen a part of such a mentality. Giving examples from the Southeastern Anatolian city of Gaziantep, which is known for its rapid industrialization, Dr. Back refers to two private universities opened in Gaziantep and says that they are worthy of appreciation. As far as the Anatolian universities are concerned in general, Dr. Back acknowledges deficiencies in the academic infrastructure, but says you have to start somewhere. The Atatrk and nn universities in the eastern cities of Erzurum and Malatya, respectively, were among the first Anatolian universities. A former academic who worked at Atatrk University for years, Professor zer Sencar, president of the MetroPOLL polling firm, says that Atatrk University was the second university to be opened in Anatolia after Ege University in 1955 as a result of the idea to bring universities to Anatolia. In a secular, Kemalist environment, it also became the first university to accept religious high school (imam-hatip schools) graduates. Sencar appreciates the success of Erzurum University and says that even in the late 1950s professors from Nebraska came to Erzurum to train academics and stayed there for five to six years. However, he is not supportive of the new Anatolian universities because he considers them political investments. Unlike the older universities, such as Ankara's Middle East Technical University (ODT), which initially started in very modest conditions, and Atatrk University, the new ones are not a product of through planning, according to Professor Sencar. These universities have been opened without any preparation under pressure from deputies of a given region and without taking academic necessities into consideration, he adds in a critical remark. Professor Sencar believes that the local universities in Anatolia will create an army of unemployed as not enough jobs have been created in parallel with the growing population in Turkey. He even describes the current situation as a university disaster. Yet, not everyone is as pessimistic as Professor Sencar. On the contrary, many younger scholars who have gained work experience at Anatolian universities believe that despite all its shortcomings, the project to expand universities has contributed to diversity in Turkey, while lifting the burden of official ideology from the universities because the new generation of academics tends to be more pro-freedom and democracy. Dr. Berat zipek, a prolific young scholar currently working at stanbul Ticaret University, is one of the intellectuals who came from an Anatolian university. He worked at Gaziosmanpaa University in Tokat, a city in the middle of Anatolia, and proved that academic success is possible not only at the ivy league schools of Turkey, but also at lower-tier universities.

Although Dr. zipek admits that new universities do not necessarily bring quality with them, he argues that the current ones do not strive to improve either. Indeed, the lack of quality at the majority of new universities is a recurring subject among many observers. However, the argument goes that such a problem is inevitable and it will be overcome in time. etin Bedir, a 28-year-old master's student at Mardin Artuklu University, is able to make a comparison among two Anatolian universities. ukurova University in Adana, where he received his undergraduate degree, is much more diverse and has more to offer in terms of social activities. He was happy with the level of education at ukurova University, but chose to go to graduate school in Mardin because he was working there. Referring to the decades old status quo in the university system in Turkey, Dr. zipek argues, Higher education was a privileged area. According to him, those who complain about the new universities are often urban upper middle and upper class people. Their criticism is inaccurate, says Dr. zipek. According to him, most of the old universities have traditionally been the places where ideology has been reproduced [taught]. He bases his argument on the Darlfnun (university) reform in 1933 that determined the mission of universities as to reproduce Kemalist ideology. Indicating that education is still based on Atatrk's principles, the teaching of which is required in universities, Dr. zipek says, As long as it remains the same on paper, you can only make de facto changes to the rules. Due to normalization and democratization in domestic politics, particularly in the last decade, he says that currently in practice, such a requirement is not functional, but if the political landscape changes, resistance to the system would become harder. In other words, given the past bitter memories the law should guarantee the freedom of universities. In a similar analysis, Professor Yasin Aktay, who also trained at an Anatolian university, Seluk University in Konya, complains about the current restrictive mentality that aims to control the curriculum in universities. There is a regulation, which is not a very liberal one, for universities, but because it is not applied there is no problem in practice. According to Aktay, due to an understanding that perceives YK as the guardian, the regulations include restrictive articles for academicians. YK remains a stumbling block to autonomy Zirve University President Professor Adnan Ksa in Gaziantep also cites the YK law as one of the leading impediments to more liberal universities. The YK law was issued in 1981 based on the 23 universities in Turkey at that time, says Ksa, while recommending less centralization. If some of the decisions that YK takes were delegated to university senates, the problems would be solved, said Ksa, who notes that the current YK staff is also insufficient to meet the needs of fast-growing universities in the country. Criticizing the over centralization of the university system in Turkey and pointing to the need for YK reform, Dr. Gkhan Back goes further and suggests that departments should be able to make decisions about themselves instead of a central administration. However, he adds, This is a general problem of the state in Turkey. When you apply for a passport, your application goes to Ankara.

The plan to revise the YK law has been on the agenda of the government for some time. Current YK President Professor Gkhan etinsaya has met with several groups. However, the new law seems to be pending, although the consensus is that change is needed in the structure of YK. The president of the one of the two non-public universities in Gaziantep, Hasan Kalyoncu University Professor brahim zdemir, says that the only problem they face is the lack of reform in the YK law. Similar to others, he is in favor of more autonomy for universities. I have to ask for YK's permission even when I hire a research assistant, according to Professor zdemir, commenting on the unnecessary bureaucracy in the university system. He believes that universities should be given freedom in faculty hiring since it is they that who suffer if they hire unqualified faculty. While acknowledging the need for a new law, Professor Yasin Aktay argues, however, The universities are not ready to abolish YK yet because they receive money from one source -state funds. Transformation of universities gained momentum in zal years Although during the Adnan Menderes era in the 1960s and later in the 1970s new universities were opened, it was the zal era in which this trend gained momentum. Professor Aktay provides the numbers of universities by eras as follows: In 1946, there was only Ankara and stanbul Technical Universities, but after 1950, four new universities were opened. Following the 1950s, there was a break until the 1970s. AP (Justice Party) and MSP (National Salvation Party) opened nine new universities in Anatolia, including Seluk University in Konya. When zal became the deputy prime minister he opened eight new universities and 27-- a total of 35 -- during his term as the prime minister. He finds the decision to expand the number of universities appropriate, as Turkey is growing, and universities should follow a parallel growth. Aktay believes that there is a big hunger for universities in Turkey. During the AK Party era, the number of universities rose from 80 to 170 says Aktay because the AK Party did not only open new public universities, but also encouraged non-state universities operated by foundations in Turkey. However, non-public universities are not called private universities, as the Constitution does not allow private universities. Consequently, as a solution to overcome such a prohibition, private universities operate as institutions run by foundations. Professor Ksa urges the state to allow the establishment of private universities since he argues that the number of universities opened in Anatolia is insufficient. He says that according to research by the DPT, Turkey should have 325 universities given its population and the demand. Ksa believes that after the extension of obligatory education to 12 years with the educational reform referred to as 4+4+4, taking the university placement exam almost became a must as well. However, Aktay notes that after zal's death in 1993, no new universities opened and there was no new faculty hiring until 2003. The time period Prof. Aktay refers to includes the infamous Feb. 28 process during which the military used universities as an instrument to intervene in politics and influence public opinion to discredit the elected government. Consequently, Aktay comments that Feb. 28 was a way to prevent the democratization process in universities.

Berat zipek argues that during the zal years people at the center opposed the opening of new universities on the basis of class and ideology to protect their privileges. Similarly, during the Feb. 28 era, universities became a tool for the secular Kemalist members of the "center" in Turkey. Dr. zipek provides examples of what happened at the universities during that era: In Malatya's nn University the novel Sophie's World, by Norwegian writer Jostein Gaarder, was banned during the Feb. 28 era because the word "Sophie" resembles the Islamic title for religious men, Sufi, in Turkish. As Dr. zipek says, an academic who named his son "Hezbollah" was also fired from the university. The universities have almost always been subject to politicization in Turkey. The Feb. 28 coup and other military coup eras are no exception. As a result, the desired academic freedom and autonomy were never truly achieved in Turkish universities. Aktay argues that there was almost no academic freedom in Turkey until the 1970s. An exceptional and relative freedom was provided to people to represent the Kemalist ideology -and to a certain extent to Marxists -- according to him. He says that the oppressed segments of the society were labeled as reactionary, separatist and Alevi for decades. What matters is freedom and autonomy in universities' People who have first-hand experience with the Anatolian universities are aware of problems, while some keep a more positive attitude than others. However, there is a consensus that there is a need for time for these universities to develop and shine. More important, freedom and autonomy are emphasized by everyone as indispensable elements of universities not only in Anatolia, but for all Turkish universities. What makes a university a real university is academic freedom and autonomy, says Dr. Berat zipek, adding that the lack of resources should not be a big deal. In reference to the "old times" in Turkish academia, due to the pressure of the status quo, in the past it was not possible to do independent research on the Kurdish or Armenian questions, says zipek in recognition of the relative improvement of the situation. However, according to him, universities need legal guarantees for freedom and should be freer than the streets. In full realization of the gap between world-class universities and newly founded universities in Turkey, Back offers providing complete freedom to close the gap, probably not in terms of physical capabilities, but in terms of mentality. Tokyo University has 8.9 million books. These would be worth $90 million. No university can buy this in Turkey, but with a decision you could provide the freedom in Tokyo or Harvard University, says Dr. Back in an effort to emphasize that academic freedom is a matter of choice for university administrations. In terms of the short-term consequences of the new universities in Anatolia, some fear that it will add to the unemployment of youth in the country. Both Dr. zipek and Professor Karatepe think that it will not make any difference in the current situation. The alternative to being a college grad and unemployed is unemployed without any degree, which is worse, claims zipek as he favors more education for as many people as possible. Arguing that unemployment is not relevant to the opening of new universities, Professor Karatepe says that in order to overcome this problem, students should be directed towards vocations at an earlier age and universities should return to their main function.

Professor Aktay, on the other hand, argues that new universities provide employment opportunities for young academics who are unable to find jobs in universities in the metropolitan cities. Professor Ksa also believes that Anatolian universities prevent the overconcentration of a student population in the big cities. Stating that 75 percent of their faculty holds a Ph.D. from the US, Ksa further claims that the new universities reverse the brain drain in Turkey.