According to the Proposal on Amendments to the Higher Education Law and Certain Laws, which includes regulations regarding student amnesty and higher education, those who have not previously benefited from "student amnesty" among those who were dismissed other than certain reasons while receiving orientation, associate degree, bachelor's degree completion, undergraduate and graduate education in all classes, including preparatory education, in higher education institutions will be able to start their education in the 2026-2027 academic year, if they apply.
The Higher Education Law is being amended with the proposal accepted by the National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Accordingly, higher education institutions established by law, regardless of state or foundation, will start education and training with the decision of the Council of Higher Education. Academic units that start education and training may be closed by the decision of the President of the Republic, such as faculties, institutes and colleges, for reasons that arise later and depending on their interest, and academic units such as conservatories, vocational schools, application and research centers may be closed by the decision of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).
Legal regulations are being made regarding the administrative sanctions and measures to be applied to foundation higher education institutions. In this context, it is determined under what conditions the foundation higher education institutions may be given warnings or warnings and correction requests, suspension of requests to establish new academic units and/or programs, restriction of student quotas or suspension of student admission, temporary suspension of activity permits and removal of activity permits, depending on the severity of their actions and transactions.
If the founding foundation cannot eliminate the reasons that led to the sanction of temporary suspension of the operating permit within 3 years, and if it is understood that this situation is continuing, the operating permit of the foundation higher education institution will inevitably be revoked.
If the financial structure of the foundation higher education institution and the founding foundation deteriorates to the extent that it cannot continue its education and training activities and this situation persists, the foundation higher education institution's operating permit will be revoked and it will be transferred to a state university in the same province that the guarantor or YÖK finds appropriate. The guarantor university will cover the education and training costs of the students of the foundation higher education institution, whose operating license has been revoked, from the student fees it has taken over from the guarantee account, and will not use public resources.
Boards of directors of higher education institutions will be able to decide on the transfer of ownership of service inventions within the scope of the Industrial Property Law to the name of TTO, provided that the expenses are covered from the capital of Technology Transfer Offices (TTO). In this case, the rights and obligations of the higher education institution arising from the relevant legislation will belong to TTO. TTO will be obliged to pay one-third of the income obtained from the rights registered in its name to the revolving fund of the higher education institution that transferred the rights in question, and an amount not less than one-third to the inventor, and the remaining amount will remain with TTO. No deductions will be made from these amounts transferred to the revolving fund, except for the treasury share, and these amounts will be used for the expenses specified in the Law. The provisions of this article will also apply to inventions and applications that are owned by higher education institutions before the date of entry into force of this regulation.
Higher education institutions will be able to establish joint offices
More than one higher education institution will be able to apply to establish a joint office. In this case, the higher education institution with an office established on its campus or in the technology development zone of which it is a partner will be specified as the addressee institution in the application. Other legal entities that are considered to contribute to the office activities will be able to become partners, provided that they contribute capital to the office. The office will be able to invest or establish partnerships with public and private sector companies for the commercialization of knowledge and inventions produced using its equity capital or revenues.
State higher education institutions in Türkiye will be able to establish campuses, academic units, programs and other facilities needed in this context abroad, with the decision of the President. Academic and administrative personnel needed by overseas units established in accordance with this regulation can be employed by assignment from their own university or higher education institutions in Türkiye, or locally on contract or for an hourly wage, by applying the provisions of the relevant Law.
The qualifications, wages, selection principles and procedures, places of duty and terms, maximum contract period, leaves, termination of their duties abroad, and other procedures and principles regarding the implementation of this article, of the personnel other than those who will be employed by assignment from higher education institutions in Turkey, will be determined by the decision of the President.
The procedures and principles regarding the account in which the revenues obtained from the university's activities abroad will be kept, the expenses to be made, the resources to be transferred from the university budget, and the accounting and auditing of the account will be determined by the relevant university, with the approval of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Presidency of Strategy and Budget.
With the proposal, excluding contributions that do not involve academic evaluation such as survey application and data collection, people who receive an associate degree, undergraduate or graduate diploma degree or academic title through activities such as theses, articles, books or projects they have written for others, partially or completely, paid or unpaid, apart from their personal labor and academic knowledge, will be removed from the university teaching profession, and the academic degrees and titles earned in this way will be taken back.
Persons who make, produce or mediate publications or activities within this scope, paid or unpaid, partially or completely on behalf of others, will be sentenced to a judicial fine of 5 thousand days to 10 thousand days. If the act is committed by professional persons, the judicial fine to be imposed will not be less than 10 thousand days and not more than 20 thousand days. Persons who obtain diploma degrees or academic titles by using these publications and activities will be sentenced to a judicial fine of 5 thousand days to 10 thousand days.
Relevant provisions of the Turkish Penal Code will be applied to legal entities for this crime.
Those who act on behalf of an educational institution abroad and open or run associate degree, undergraduate or graduate programs in Türkiye in violation of the legislation will be sentenced to imprisonment from 2 to 4 years and 100 to 1000 days. Those who open or run higher education institutions in Türkiye in violation of the legislation will be sentenced to prison from 2 to 4 years and a judicial fine of 100 to 1000 days. In this context, those who promote prohibited institutions and acts will be sentenced to imprisonment from 1 to 3 years and a judicial fine of 50 to 500 days.
Those who issue or have fake diplomas, graduation certificates or certificates of Turkish or foreign higher education institutions will be punished according to the "Forgery of Official Documents" provision of the Turkish Penal Code.
With the proposal, regulations are made for foundation higher education institutions that have a medical faculty and do not have their own hospitals. Universities that cannot open a hospital within the specified period, those who have not yet been able to start or finish the construction of a hospital on a suitable immovable property for which they have an easement right of ownership or duration of not less than 30 years, due to compulsory reasons such as zoning cancellation or judicial process, and those who have started the process of taking over the ownership of the appropriate hospital within the scope of this provision or the easement right, operating right and license for a duration of not less than 30 years, but have not been able to complete the transfer processes, will be given an additional period of 30 months to complete these processes. At the end of these periods, students of medical faculties who do not meet the necessary conditions will be transferred to the guarantor university or a determined state university by YÖK.
With the proposal, students studying at higher education institutions in all classes, including preparatory, associate degree, bachelor's degree completion, undergraduate and graduate education, including those who have voluntarily terminated their relations, provided that they have not benefited from the rights previously granted by this law, those convicted of terrorism, intentional murder, torture, torment, sexual assault, sexual abuse of children, drug or stimulant manufacturing and trafficking, those whose registration was canceled due to forged documents, those who submitted forged documents during registration, and Intellectual and Artistic Works. Except for those who have been dismissed due to crimes under the title of "Violation of moral, financial or related rights" of the Law and their membership, affiliation or contact with terrorist organizations or structures, formations or groups that have been determined by the National Security Council to be operating against the national security of the state, those whose relations have been terminated for whatever reason, and those who have not registered despite having gained the right to register by winning a program, those whose relations have been terminated or have gained the right to register within 4 months from the date of entry into force of this regulation. They will be able to start their education in the 2026-2027 academic year according to the determined principles, provided that they apply to the higher education institution.
Having previously benefited from the rights granted by this regulation at a different education level will not constitute an obstacle to benefiting from the provisions of this article at another education level.
Military service postponement of those who start education again will be made in accordance with the procedures and principles in the provision titled "Postponement" of the Military Recruitment Law. Those who are doing their military service on the date the regulation comes into force will benefit from the rights specified in this regulation if they apply to the relevant higher education institution within 2 months following their discharge.
Among those who registered to the higher education institution they left by taking advantage of the provisions in this regulation, those who have the same ÖSYS/YKS score as of the entry year or the same type of base score of a different diploma program will be able to request a horizontal transfer to one of these programs. In this context, the number of students to be accepted for horizontal transfer from a different diploma program will be determined by taking into account the number of students registered in the relevant program and the physical conditions of the university. The procedures and principles regarding this will be determined by the senates of higher education institutions.
Those who benefit from this regulation and gain student status at a higher education institution will be able to transfer to open education associate or undergraduate equivalent programs at Anadolu University, Ankara University, Atatürk University and Istanbul University, if they apply. YÖK will be authorized to determine the procedures and principles regarding the implementation of this regulation.
With the motion accepted in the commission, an addition was made to the article regulating "student amnesty". Accordingly, the provisions of this article will not apply to students who are dismissed voluntarily or for other reasons while studying at the Police Academy and its affiliated educational institutions, which are subject to special law provisions in accordance with the Constitution, the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy and its affiliated educational institutions, military academies, non-commissioned officer vocational schools and institutes affiliated with the National Defense University, and other higher education institutions on behalf of the Ministry of National Defense, Police Academy, Gendarmerie General Command and Coast Guard Command.
Faculty members who meet the conditions specified in the provision of the Law titled "Return to Institutions" and who are over the age of 67 and who are experts in medicine and dentistry in accordance with the specialization legislation and have worked in state higher education institutions, can be employed on a contract basis if they apply to a higher education institution in need within 3 years.