The Bill on Amendments to the Higher Education Law and Some Laws, signed by AK Party MPs and containing regulations regarding student amnesty and higher education, was accepted by the National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
With the proposal, in line with the decision of the Constitutional Court, the Law on the Execution of Medicine and Medical Arts is amended, and it is stipulated that those who are doing specialization training in higher education institutions and research and practice hospitals affiliated with the Ministry of Health, under the foreign national quota, will not be given a share of the revolving fund income.
According to the amendment to the Higher Education Law, the periods spent by the members of the Higher Education Supervisory Board in the Board will be deemed to have been spent in their actual profession in accordance with the provisions of the special law to which they are subject, and will be taken into account in the calculation of promotion, first class separation and first class period. The age limit of the members will be based on the age limit of the staff before being elected as a member.
Among the faculty members who have applied before the date of reaching the age limit and who are in faculty positions as of the date of the contract, those who are deemed beneficial to remain in their positions in the departments and programs determined by the higher education institutions, with the opinion of the higher education institution and the decision of the Council of Higher Education, can be employed on a contractual basis for two-year periods from the date they reach the retirement age limit, until they are granted a retirement or old-age pension, not exceeding the age of seventy-five. The Council of Higher Education will be authorized to limit the number of contracted faculty members to be employed within the scope of this paragraph by department, program or higher education institution, and to make the necessary determinations in order to carry out the application in accordance with service requirements and academic criteria.
With the proposal, in order to ensure the sustainability of the employment of contract faculty members, it is stipulated that the personnel rights of faculty members who work as contract faculty members, depending on their age, will continue while they are working as permanent faculty members, while they are contract faculty members, and to ensure uniformity of practice in terms of payments based on actual activity among faculty members in both statuses.
Academic staff who receive official invitations from Higher Education Institutions in the Turkish Republics and Related Communities may be given paid leave with the decision of the university board of directors and the approval of the Ministry of National Education, provided that it does not exceed 3 years and all personal rights are reserved. This period can be extended up to 5 years in universities established with international agreements and in programs opened within higher education institutions abroad with bilateral agreements in accordance with the protocols to which the Council of Higher Education is a party.
With the regulation, senior students will be given the right to two additional exams or retakes for all theoretical or practical courses that they failed or could not take, excluding the internship period, in order to graduate from the educational institution they are registered to at the end of the maximum education period.
Among these students, those who have been successful in theoretical or practical courses but have not started practical training or internship training, or have not completed their education, or have failed will be given the opportunity to complete their practical or internship training. Intermediate class students who have completed the maximum education period will not be given the right to take additional exams.
The Council of Higher Education will be authorized to determine the principles regarding applied training and internship training.
Penalties of dismissal will be imposed on those who use their publications and activities, which are not based on their personal labor and experience and are produced by others for a fee or free of charge, to gain appointments, promotions, titles and degrees, as well as those who perform these acts on behalf of others or those who mediate these acts.
Regulations regarding disciplinary investigation
With the amendment made to the Law, the procedures and principles regarding the disciplinary investigation, the conduct of the investigation and the exercise of the rights of expression and defense are rearranged, taking into account the annulment decision of the Constitutional Court. Thus, it is aimed to ensure the principles of legal security and certainty and the right to be heard.
According to the provision titled "Disciplinary investigation, right to take a statement and defense", in the letter of invitation to testify sent by the investigator to the person being investigated for statement and defense in the disciplinary investigation, it will be stated clearly what the allegations against him are and that his statement will be taken within the given period of not less than 7 days, and if a verbal or written statement is not given within this period, action will be taken within the scope of the existing evidence in the file. The investigator will make a proposal based on the evidence collected.
In the letter of invitation to defense sent to the investigated person by the authority authorized to impose disciplinary punishment, it will be stated what the action taken as the basis of the proposal consists of, what the disciplinary penalty corresponding to this action is, and that he/she must make his/her defense within the given time, which is not less than 7 days. In the invitation letter, it will also be stated that if the person being investigated does not make his defense within the given time, he will be deemed to have given up his right to defense and a decision will be made about him based on the available evidence. In the letter of invitation to defense, it will be stated that the person under investigation can review the investigation documents before exercising his right to defense.
According to the medical specialization legislation, additional payment ceiling rates for faculty members and research assistants with subspecialty specialization will be brought into line with the payment rates received by their counterparts working in the Ministry of Health.
In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law, faculty members assigned to joint research centers will continue to benefit from additional payments within the scope of their relevant legislation, taking into account their contributions to the revolving fund activities carried out at their own universities. Durable movables received from the project revenues can be recorded in the inventory of the coordinator university and allocated to joint application and research center universities within the scope of the project. When the project is completed, the joint application and research center board of directors will decide which higher education institution the durable movables will be transferred to, with a free inter-institution transfer. In case of change of coordinator university, the debt, receivable and cash balances of the joint application and research center will be transferred to the new coordinator university.
With the proposal accepted in the commission, the necessary appropriation in the central government budget for that year 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 within the scope of the Health Services Basic Law. If a health facility in common use 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 in the health facility in common use. The procedures and principles regarding the transactions to be carried out in this context will be determined by the regulation to be issued by the Council of Higher Education, with the approval of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Ministry of Health.
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 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.