Good news for national athletes from YÖK! 'Scholarship national athlete' decision

Council of Higher Education (YÖK) President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar announced that they will take steps to increase the quota for national athletes with 100% scholarships at foundation universities.

Özvar emphasized the importance of sports during a meeting held to celebrate the championship victory of Atalay Demir, a student at the Siirt University School of Physical Education and Sports, at the Deaf World Wrestling Championships held in Kyrgyzstan.

QUOTA TO INCREASE

The championship victory achieved by Atalay Demir, a student at the Siirt University School of Physical Education and Sports, at the Deaf World Wrestling Championships held in Kyrgyzstan was evaluated at a meeting attended by Özvar. Highlighting the importance of sports through this success, Özvar underscored the advantages provided to national athletes for university admission. He promised to increase the quota for national athletes with 100% scholarships at foundation universities.

Özvar stated that within the scope of the "Sports-Friendly Campus" project initiated across Turkey, they desire university campuses to be organized in a way that offers opportunities to both professional athletes and other students. He expressed that universities that offer the best infrastructure, encourage students, and share their resources across Turkey will be evaluated and ranked. In this context, he emphasized that they expect support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports and other relevant ministries.

Özvar stated that universities should stand out not only with science but also with art. Emphasizing that science and art combined with sports are three important areas that universities should host, he drew attention to the merits of the existing infrastructure.

"HARD WORK BEATS TALENT"

Congratulating Atalay Demir on his success, Özvar shared information about daily training durations in an interview with the athlete. In this context, emphasizing the importance of hard work as much as talent, he said, "Hard work beats talent. Great effort is needed in every field; you need to be constantly engaged. You are now doing sports at a professional level. You need to work at least as hard as your opponents are working."

Özvar evaluated the success of the world champion athlete from Siirt University as a positive story and conveyed his thanks to Rector Nihat Şındak and the coaches.

YÖK President Özvar noted the following:

"We are proud of this success story. It is a good thing that we have such universities and such athletes. Our desire and wish is that successful athletes like Atalay emerge both on a national and global scale, and that we support them. Let these students study at our universities, complete their higher education, and after their professional sports careers end, let them continue as faculty members or lecturers just like their own teachers."