Professor Behçet Yalın Özkara resigns following YÖK social media income ban

Professor Behçet Yalın Özkara has announced his resignation from his position at a state university following a decision by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) to restrict public servant academics from earning income through digital platforms like YouTube.

After conducting a poll with 49,443 participants, Özkara noted that 53.9% of respondents supported continuing digital broadcasting activities. To avoid using indirect methods such as forming companies or broadcasting through third parties, he decided to resign from his professorship to maintain his digital presence. The resignation process is expected to take approximately one month.

Additionally, a planned science center project for underprivileged youth will be halted following a vote in which 51.4% of participants opted to donate the accumulated funds. Özkara announced that approximately 6 million TL (roughly $123,000) collected through his channel will be donated to a charitable organization, such as the Turkish Education Foundation (TEV) or the Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG), to be determined by his followers.