Turkey's Parliament approves student amnesty and sweeping higher‑education reforms

The Turkish Grand National Assembly’s Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Commission voted to adopt a bill amending the Higher Education Law. The legislation introduces a comprehensive student amnesty: students who have terminated their enrollment can re‑register for the 2026‑27 academic year, provided they have not previously benefited from an amnesty and are not excluded for serious crimes such as terrorism, murder, sexual abuse, drug trafficking or for having withdrawn from the Police Academy, Gendarmerie, Coast Guard or National Defence University.

The bill also reforms faculty employment by allowing retired professors to continue on two‑year contracts until age 75, preserves their salary and benefit rights, and tightens oversight of private (foundation) universities, including possible closure and transfer to state institutions if financial viability fails. It adds severe penalties for academic plagiarism and ghost‑authorship, revises disciplinary procedures in line with a Constitutional Court ruling, and removes a provision that would have barred foreign‑national medical residents from receiving a share of university‑linked revolving‑fund revenues. The measure now proceeds to the full parliament for final approval.