ANKARA: While student protests continue over the appointment of a loyalist rector to Turkey’s prestigious Bogazici University, another institution known for its independent academic line is also under the spotlight.
The French-speaking University of Galatasaray, located along the Bosphorus just kilometers-away from Bogazici University, has made headlines due to a new official instruction given to its academic staff.
French teachers at the university are now required to have relatively high-level Turkish proficiency following an instruction by the Council of Higher Education. Those who do not meet this requirement will not receive work permits or have their permits extended, making their stay “illegal” — although several of them have been living in Turkey for decades.
About 30 teachers at the university are nominated by France.
Opened by presidents Francois Mitterand and his Turkish counterpart Turgut Ozal in 1992 to boost bilateral relations between the two countries, Galatasaray University is a French-speaking institution welcoming thousands of students.
They are mostly employed in elite circles after their graduation due to the high-class bilingual education they receive.
Experts say that the move might be in retaliation for educational changes introduced by French President Emmanuel Macron last year.
These require all Turkish teachers in France to know the French language, to preserve social cohesion and fight against the segregation that feeds extremism.
However, while the changes in the French system were announced a year before, giving sufficient time for teachers to gain a decent knowledge of the language, the sudden requirement put forward unilaterally by Ankara has been harshly criticized, turning several prominent French scholars into illegal residents.
BACKGROUND
French teachers at the university are now required to have relatively high-level Turkish proficiency following an instruction by the Council of Higher Education.
Those who do not have a residence or work permit in Turkey cannot open a bank account or hold an electricity account for their apartments.
Guclu Akyurek, a law professor at MEF University in Istanbul, said that although countries can adopt measures affecting foreigners in line with the sovereignty principle, such restrictive procedures do not have a legal basis.
“Galatasaray University is a university that was founded with an international agreement with France. Therefore, Turkey has to respect international deals according to the norm hierarchy. A regulation cannot change the status of such an established university,” he told Arab News.
Akyurek, who is himself a graduate of Galatasaray University, said that the European Court of Human Rights has urged all countries to protect the private lives of their residents. This applies to French teachers at Galatasaray University who have married Turks, he said.
Berk Esen, a political scientist from Sabanci University in Istanbul, thinks this decision is part of its efforts to purge government critics from the higher education system and gain control of universities to limit dissent.
“It is yet another sign of the declining academic freedoms and autonomy allotted to Turkish universities and represents a blatant attempt by the government to turn universities into its political backyard. It will send a warning to other high-quality universities that the government will no longer tolerate opposition against its policies,” he told Arab News.
According to Esen, it could also be a politically charged move against the French government, which clashed with the Erdogan administration on a number of issues in the international arena.
“Since it's difficult for foreign academics to learn Turkish under such a short period, this would result in a reduction in the number of foreign academics based in Turkey,” he said.
While the move currently targets Galatasaray University, it can certainly spread to other universities, Esen thinks.
“Unfortunately, this move may generate support among some nationalist circles, who have been critical of the growing use of foreign language instruction at Turkish universities,” he added. “Be as it may, this is not the way to strengthen instruction and research in Turkish.”
