The ITU administration, under the control of the Turkish government, has dismissed Prof. Dr. Funda Yirmibeşoğlu, Head of the Department of City and Regional Planning, and has launched an investigation into the publication of the “Joint Declaration on the Presidential Decree No. 126 dated February 23, 2023” on the department’s website. The academicians commented on a recent political decision by the government that they find dangerous for the future of city planning and other potential disasters.
On March 28, ITU Department of City and Regional Planning faculty members and their assistants issued a joint statement against the “Presidential Decree on Settlement and Construction under the State of Emergency,” dated February 23, 2023. The following remarks were in the academics’ declaration built upon the understanding that the government decree “will reveal troubling results”:
This (Presidential) decree, aiming to respond to the immediate need for shelter due to the earthquake, ignores the knowledge and experiences of the City and Regional Planning Sciences field and that profession with a deep-rooted history in Turkey. And this decree may lead to significant problems in the medium and long range.
After the university’s declaration became public, the Istanbul Technical University (ITU) administration blocked access to the school’s department’s website on March 31 and removed the declaration from publication.
According to T24’s Vecih Cuzdan, the ITU administration has launched an investigation regarding the joint statement issued by the City and Regional Planning Department on March 28 against the Presidential Decree. President Erdogan issued the decree on settlement and construction after the Maraş and Hatay earthquakes on February 6 and 20.
Faculty members from the ITU Department of City and Regional Planning said that the head of the department, Prof. Dr. Funda Yirmibeşoğlu, was dismissed by the Dean’s Office of ITU Faculty of Architecture and that an investigation was launched into the publication of the statement on the department’s website.
After changing the democratic nature of higher education administration, universities in Turkey are now governed by appointed, mostly unqualified, religious, and government-friendly management. These administrators follow the government policies and officials without challenging them, even if the decisions are demonstrably wrong. Many universities have seen administrators who appoint themselves to multiple positions in the schools and collect paychecks from each position.
Source: T24
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