Turkey’s Higher Education Council (YÖK) has cancelled accreditation of 29 universities in 17 countries as such institutions are blacklisted as part of the government’s profiling activities against the Gülen movement.
The movement stands accused of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt while it denies any organizational involvement.
“Diplomas from these universities are no longer acceptable in Turkey,” staunchly pro-government Yeni Şafak daily had written in mid-January.
Six universities in the US, three universities in Austria, two universities in Poland, two universities in Iraq, one university in Albania and Colombia each were affected from the change. The decision also affects some universities in the following countries: Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Cambodia, Belgium, Romania, Kirgizstan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Bosnia.
Brussels-based Dutch news outlet Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Tuesday that a KU Leuven graduate in Belgium made an application to YÖK for recognition of her diploma, however her application was refused as YÖK claimed in a refusal letter that the university supports terrorism.
KU Leuven University collaborates with the Intercultureel Dialoog Platform, an association affiliated with the Gülen movement, as part of the university’s research activities.
Turkey has survived a military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and Turkish government has launched a crackdown against perceived coup supporters. As a result of autocratic Erdoğan regime’s post-coup witch hunt 7,317 academics dismissed from Turkish universities and 2,099 schools, dormitories and universities were shut down by the government. (turkeypurge.com) April 5, 2017
