Isobel Finkel
is_fink
July 19, 2016 — 3:34 PM IST
What's Next for Turkey After Coup Attempt?
Turkey’s highest education authority asked university faculty heads across the country to resign, broadening the government’s purge that followed Friday night’s failed coup. The currency slumped.
Turkey’s Council of Higher Education is seeking the resignation of 1,577 deans at both state and private universities, state-run TRT reports. The channel did not give a reason for the nationwide decision, and calls to the educational body, known in Turkish as YOK, were not immediately returned.
The lira surged past 3 to the dollar after the announcement, as the government crackdown takes measures that are reminiscent of the 1980 coup, after which the Council of Higher Education was founded to help increase state control over education. The purge that followed the bloody events of Friday night has already seen more than a sixth of the judiciary removed from duty.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan clashed with academics earlier this year, when more than 1,000 of them signed a petition calling for peace in the southeast and criticizing the government’s handling of the state’s long-running battle with its Kurdish population. Many ended up on trial, while others lost their jobs.
No comments:
Post a Comment