Mugla University Needs Democracy Lessons

The contracts of two lecturers at Mugla University in south-west Turkey have not been renewed. Assistant Professors Lütfiye Kalayci and Aziz Erkan, employed in the Education Faculty, Arts Teacher Department, were active in trying to introduce more democracy to the unversity, according to the Mugla University representatives of the trade union Egitim-Sen.

Not the first violation of rights

According to the trade union, lecturers at the university experienced various legal and personal rights violations both before and after the election of a new rector. The dismissal of these two lecturers is the result of symbolic violence, and not the first:

• Assistant Professor Dilek Hattatoglu, who had criticised the making of a TV programme at the university which praised [retired general] Kenan Evren and his military coup of 1980, was investigated and given a warning. When it came to renewing contracts, this warning was used as an excuse not to renew her assistant professorship and reduce her status.

• Assistant Professor Kerem Cankocak, trade union representative at Mugla University, who had invited the new rector to behave more democratically previous to his election, was not given permission to go abroad to continue participating in the international CERN project in Geneva. Wanting to take part in this prestigious project, Cankocak was forced to resign from university in order to go.

More than the required points for academic employment

Kalayci, who is also a trade union representative, and Erkan have handed in files which prove that they have more than enough points to be reemployed by the university. According to Egitim-Sen's press statement, "The purge of trade union members and representatives who are trying to make Mugla University a 'democratic university' has been going on for a long time."

At Mugla University, trade union representation is still being developed. Teaching staff have a weekly work load of more than 35 hours. Dismissing the two lecturers from a department that only had three members of teaching staff to begin with is not only damaging to the staff but also to the public.

Rector not available for comment

"It must not be so easy for a university to act in such an arbitrary manner towards its lecturers. They have turned their back to the attractive job markets, have sacrificed a lot to do a doctorate and have preferred to work in academia."
The rector of Mugla University, Sener Oktik, was unavailable for comments as "he was in meetings all day". (GG/AG)