Estonian students: Turkey’s behavior towards educational institutions unacceptable
The Federation of Estonian Student Unions said on Wednesday that Turkey acted against the principles of the European higher education area, as it had begun firing employees of various educational institutions in the aftermath of last weekend’s failed coup.
The federation pointed out that Turkey’s state commission on higher education had demanded the resignation of 1,577 university deans and suspended more than 15,000 educational staff, allegedly because of their connection to those who organized the failed military takeover.
“Not a single institution working based on democratic principles can support such an unsubstantiated interference with education, even less an organization that stands for the rights of students in a democratic country. With it, substantial damage is done to the quality of education and to international trust,” its statement read.
It added that what was currently happening in Turkey was an example of the politicization of education, and that this wasn’t the first time a regime tried to use a state’s educational system to achieve its political aims.
Turkey is part of the European Union’s Erasmus+ program despite the fact that the country isn’t an EU member.
Media reported earlier on Wednesday that on top of the numbers above, Turkey had also annulled 21,000 educational licenses. The Turkish government also forbids scientists and higher education instructional staff to leave the country.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn