Demand for student scholarship increase rejected by AKP and MHP votes
During the deliberations on the Ministry of Youth and Sports' 2026 budget at the TBMM Planning and Budget Committee, opposition requests for additional appropriations regarding the fight against addiction, scholarship increases, and dormitory maintenance were rejected by the votes of AKP and MHP members.
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The TBMM Planning and Budget Committee discussed the Ministry of Youth and Sports' 2026 budget during its meeting on November 13. The budget proposal, prepared at a total of 300 billion 302 million 192 thousand TL, was approved by the committee.
According to a report by Birgün, opposition parties prepared various motions to add additional resources to the budget; however, all proposals were rejected by the votes of AKP and MHP members during the votes held at the meeting.
REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR THE ADDICTION FIGHT PROGRAM
CHP deputies Ahmet Vehbi Bakırlıoğlu, Mustafa Erdem, and Cavit Arı requested an increase in the appropriation allocated for the ministry's “Fight Against Addiction” program.
It was proposed that 50 million TL be added to the program's current 9.9 million TL budget, increasing it to 59.9 million TL.
In the vote held at the committee, AKP and MHP deputies voted “No” to the motion.
DEMAND FOR INCREASE IN STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS FOUND NO SUPPORT
CHP deputies also submitted a motion regarding the increase of scholarships provided to undergraduate students.
CHP's Ahmet Vehbi Bakırlıoğlu stated that the scholarship amount, which corresponded to 20 percent of the minimum wage in 2002, had fallen to 13.5 percent of the minimum wage as of November 2025.
For this reason, it was requested that the appropriation for the scholarship item be increased to 36 billion 246 million TL.
However, this motion was also not included in the committee's agenda due to the votes of AKP and MHP members.
ADDITIONAL BUDGET FOR DORMITORY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR REJECTED
A separate motion was submitted to the committee by CHP members to meet the maintenance and repair needs of the Credit and Dormitories Institution (KYK) dormitories.
The motion requested an additional 20 billion TL appropriation, emphasizing that students should “stay in safe dormitories.”
In the vote, AKP and MHP deputies again cast negative votes.
İYİ PARTY'S ADDICTION FIGHT PROPOSAL ALSO SHELVED
İYİ Party's Erhan Usta submitted another motion envisioning a 5 billion TL increase in the appropriation for the fight against addiction.
Usta argued that additional resources were mandatory, stating, “The number of people who lost their lives due to substance use in 2024 has increased by 42 percent compared to 2023.”
However, the İYİ Party's motion was also not accepted due to the negative votes of the committee's AKP and MHP members.