[REVISION HISTORY]

Turkey caps tuition hikes, grants student amnesty

Updated 12 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-01 08:42 UTC → 2026-08-01 18:06 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In late July 2026 the Turkish Grand National Assembly approved a sweeping amendment to the Higher Education Law, restoring enrolment rights for students whose studies were interrupted and allowing re‑entry for the 2026‑27 academic year. The amendment creates a four‑month application window (two months for recently discharged military personnel) and gives final‑year students two additional exam attempts, while excluding those in the internship stage. Faculty contracts are limited to two‑year terms up to age 75, and scholars from Turkish republics may obtain up to three years of leave, extendable to five under bilateral agreements. Individuals convicted of terrorism, homicide, serious felonies or forgery are barred from academic positions. Heavy penalties target ghost‑writing of theses, articles or projects, imposing fines and imprisonment of 5,000‑10,000 days, with possible revocation of degrees and dismissal. The amendment also caps tuition‑fee increases for private foundation universities at 25 % for non‑preparatory and non‑first‑year programmes in 2026‑27. The Higher Education Council (YÖK) issued ~~warning letters to all foundation institutions~~ a directive after numerous CİMER ~~complaints about fee hikes above the limit and failure~~ complaints, ordering universities to publish ~~new~~ rates ~~online.~~ and stay within the limit. YÖK President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar reiterated the cap in a social‑media post and said the council will monitor compliance closely, reinforcing the government’s financial safeguards alongside the broader reform package.

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.