YÖK President Özvar's statement on 'Evening Education': Why was it abolished?
YÖK President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar explained why evening education programs were abolished. Özvar stated, "Regarding evening education, the information we receive from universities suggests that the quality of education and training has declined somewhat. Professors are also somewhat dissatisfied in terms of having to teach too many classes."
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Council of Higher Education (YÖK) President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar explained the new regulations that have been and will be implemented in higher education.
Speaking to Sözcü columnist Saygı Öztürk, Özvar also made a statement regarding the abolished evening education programs.
The relevant part of Öztürk's article is as follows:
“Today, with 208 universities in Turkey, we have reached a capacity that can meet the demand for access to higher education. This is very important. If there is a factor that justifies the decision we have taken, this is one of them. Our capacity, meaning even if we do not allocate quotas for evening education, is currently at a level that can easily meet the demand. Because we are opening many new programs. In these programs, instead of programs that would make it difficult for young people to enter the labor market, we are now designing programs that will enable them to find jobs more easily.
Young people know that being a higher education graduate provides them with more opportunities in terms of real wages than secondary education graduates. That is why people choose university. Beyond the goal of being a good citizen, there is also a strong desire for social prestige, and to use the students' own words, to find more qualified jobs and to attain higher salaries. It affects young people. We pay extraordinary attention to this issue while transforming programs. Young people should be able to find more opportunities in the labor market.
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR ABOLISHING EVENING EDUCATION?
Regarding evening education, the information we receive from universities suggests that the quality of education and training has declined somewhat. Professors are also somewhat dissatisfied in terms of having to teach too many classes. The teaching load falling on them is higher in universities that have evening education programs compared to relevant programs elsewhere. There are complaints from professors in the studies we have conducted and in the feedback we receive. Also, in some universities, programs that should normally start after 17:00 or 18:00 are being moved to earlier hours. It is not possible to agree with all the complaints such as ‘I have a job, I was going to go to university.’ Our friends who work and are in programs that do not have evening education can also enroll in Open Education programs with greater flexibility. Therefore, Open Education programs are also an exit route for evening education programs. The public and many people are approaching this positively, and they are embracing our decision regarding evening education. Both universities and students are looking favorably upon our decision.”