Turkish universities to welcome refugees

ANKARA

Syrian refugees in Jordan protest against a visit of UN envoy Brahimi to at Al Zaatri Syrian refugee camp. Refugees in Turkey will be able to continue their interrupted education. EPA photo

Syrian refugees staying in camps in southern Turkish provinces like Hatay will be able to continue their interrupted education at Turkish universities, in accordance with a new regulation.

In response to a call from the education and foreign ministries, the Board of Higher Education (YÖK) announced that Syrian higher-education students will be admitted to Turkish universities a “special students,” daily Birgün reported yesterday. The refugee camps have been informed about the new regulation. The student candidates are expected to present documents proving their student status to benefit from the regulation. These documents will be subject to verification inquiries.

However, those who are not able to present legal documentation of student status will also be given the chance to benefit from special student status by making a declaration. Syrian special students will be given a graduation certificate in place of a Turkish university diploma upon successfully concluding their studies.

The announcement from YÖK reads that for the 2012 educational year only, these students will be able to apply at Gaziantep University in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, Kilis 7 Aralık University in the southeastern province of Kilis, Harran University in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, Mustafa Kemal University in the southern province of Hatay, Korkut Ata University in the southern province of Osmaniye, Çukurova University in the southern province of Adana and Mersin University in the southern province of Mersin.

Main opposition critical

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Gaziantep Deputy Mehmet Şeker sent a written statement to announce his party’s objection to the regulation. The statement reads that the regulation is unfair to Turkish students who had to suffer great pressure to be able to get into a higher education institution. Moreover, Şeker criticized the regulation for enabling “unidentified people coming from Syria” into Turkish universities, calling it “irrational and wrong.”