153 fake teachers detected by Education Ministry across Turkey

ISTANBUL

The Education Ministry has detected some 153 teachers working with fake diplomas in an investigation that was accelerated after the July 15 coup attempt, believed to have been masterminded by U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, daily Habertürk has reported.

The Higher Education Board (YÖK) had signed a protocol to examine of diploma information of eight million of university graduates across Turkey, with 22 public institutions following the Education Ministry’s investigation.

Public institutes checked graduates’ details via an online database provided by YÖK. However, officials said they had difficulty regarding individuals who graduated before 2003/04, as citizen ID numbers were not included on university ID cards before this date. 

Nevertheless, the ministry managed to identify 153 teachers who have been using fake diplomas and dismissed them from their duties.  

The ministry has opened investigations into the dismissed teachers while it also found that 109 of them had forged their documents in 2015.

The dismissals come after a series of spectacular news reports of teachers using fake diplomas in Turkish schools.

One of the teachers had reportedly worked in Konya with a fake diploma for 20 years, while another had worked as a doctor in Adana since 2008. 

In an interview in 2015, former Education Minister Nabi Avcı had claimed that there were up to 60,000 teachers using fake diplomas, saying gangs had been providing fake diplomas in exchange for around 40,000 Turkish liras.