(GNAT) - With the student amnesty regulation accepted by the National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, students who have not previously benefited from the amnesty and whose relations have been terminated will be able to return to their universities in the 2026-2027 academic year. With the accepted proposal of the AK Party, students who were dismissed from the Police Academy, Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy and military education institutions affiliated with the National Defense University were excluded from the scope of the regulation.
The National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Commission convened under the chairmanship of AK Party Eskişehir Deputy Ayşen Gürcan. Discussions on the Bill on Amendments to the Higher Education Law and Some Laws continue in the Commission. After completing the discussions on the entire bill, the commission moved on to the articles of the bill.
There were also pleasant and exciting moments at the commission meeting, where nerves were tense and shouting took place throughout the day. As the commission started its activities at 15.00 and the articles were passed late, the deputies asked the commission chairman Gürcan about the commission's activity calendar. Gürcan said, "I want to go as far as we can." Gürcan continued his words by stating that his daughter was in the hospital to give birth and said, "I don't want to talk about my own personal situation, but my daughter was given birth urgently in Eskişehir. I don't want to leave and go, I want to finish this place too. My grandchild is coming." Upon Gürcan's words, the deputies in the commission conveyed their congratulations to Gürcan.
With the regulation made in the additional 14th article of the Law No. 1219 on the Execution of Medicine and Medical Sciences, the practice regarding the revolving fund additional payment of physicians who receive specialization training in the foreign national quota in higher education institutions and research and practice hospitals affiliated to the Ministry of Health has been regulated. Accordingly, no other payments in kind or cash will be made to foreign nationals from the revolving fund other than the payments stipulated in the relevant laws.
With the proposal accepted in the commission, the provision regarding the determination of the revolving fund share to be transferred to scientific research projects in the use of health facilities affiliated to the Ministry of Health together with medical faculties of higher education institutions, regulated in the Law on Revolving Funds to be Given to Health Institutions and Rehabilitation Facilities Affiliated to the Ministry of Health, was removed from the bill.
It was accepted to bring legal guarantee to the professional status and personal rights of the members of the Higher Education Supervisory Board. It has been accepted that faculty members who continue their duties despite reaching the age limit can benefit from additional payment, additional course fee, development allowance and academic incentive allowance.
Within the scope of the international agreements to which YÖK is a party, it has been accepted that faculty members can be assigned to higher education institutions abroad on paid leave for up to five years, as well as allowing students who have completed their maximum education period to complete their practical training and internships. The seventh article, which includes the penalty of dismissal from the profession of university faculty, was also accepted for academic personnel who prepare or mediate theses, articles and academic activities on behalf of others. According to the eighth article accepted by the commission, the procedures regarding the right to defense in disciplinary investigations will be rearranged in line with the decision of the Constitutional Court.
With the regulation made in Article 58 of Law No. 2547, the additional payment rates of faculty members and research assistants with sub-branch expertise were increased and the regulations regarding joint research centers were accepted. According to the proposal, additional payment ceiling rates will be aligned with the payment rate received by peers working in the Ministry of Health. With the proposal made by the AK Party, within the scope of Article 9 of the law, the necessary allowance in the annual central government budget will be allocated to the relevant university budget in order to support the scientific research projects carried out within the relevant universities, taking into account the 2.5 percent of the previous year's gross revenue of the health facilities in common use. If a jointly used health facility has signed a protocol with more than one university, the 2.5 percent rate will be calculated by dividing it in proportion to the number of faculty members assigned by the universities to the jointly used health facility. The procedures and principles regarding the transactions to be carried out in this context will be determined by the regulation to be issued by YÖK, with the approval of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Ministry of Health.
With the proposal of the AK Party MPs, a provision was added to the article regulating a comprehensive student amnesty in higher education, regarding the exclusion of students who were dismissed from the Police Academy, Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy and military education institutions affiliated with the National Defense University, from the scope of the regulation.
According to the regulation, those studying in associate degree, undergraduate completion, undergraduate and graduate programs, including the preparatory class; Students who have been dismissed, including those who have been dismissed voluntarily, provided that they have not benefited from the previously issued student amnesty regulations, will be able to restart their education in the 2026-2027 academic year if they apply to higher education institutions.
Those convicted of terrorism, intentional murder, torture, sexual assault, sexual abuse of children, drug or stimulant production and trade, and plagiarism, those who registered with false documents, and those whose relations were terminated due to their affiliation or contact with terrorist organizations were excluded from the scope of the regulation. The article also regulates provisions regarding the ability to benefit from amnesty at different education levels, military service postponements, post-discharge application periods for those who are under arms, base score and horizontal transfer opportunities to open education programs.
A new provision was added to the article with the AK Party proposal accepted in the commission. Accordingly, in accordance with Article 132 of the Constitution, the Police Academy and its affiliated educational institutions, the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy and its affiliated educational institutions, the military academies, non-commissioned officer vocational schools and institutes affiliated with the National Defense University, and the students who were dismissed voluntarily or for other reasons while studying at other higher education institutions on behalf of the Ministry of National Defense, Police Academy, Gendarmerie General Command and Coast Guard Command, are subject to amnesty. The provisions of this article will not apply.
With the motion accepted in the commission, the provision regarding the closure of Afşin Health School and Göksun School of Applied Sciences, affiliated with the Rectorate of Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, and the transfer of the students studying in these schools to the faculties specified in the regulation of the same university, effective from the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, was removed from the bill.
With the proposal, changes are also made to the Security Investigation and Archive Research Law. According to the proposal, which all opposition members of the commission called for to be withdrawn, faculty members who will work in higher education institutions will also be subject to security investigation and archive research. The regulation envisages that faculty members can only be appointed to university positions after this process is completed.