CoHE and Ministry of Family and Social Services Sign Cooperation
Protocol
May 6, 2025
The Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of Family and Social
Services signed a cooperation protocol. The protocol was signed by Mahinur
Özdemir Göktaş, Minister of Family and Social Services, and Erol Özvar,
President of the Council of Higher Education.
In his speech at the signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Family and
Social Services, CoHE President Özvar stated that the protocol is an
extremely important step towards further strengthening the strong ties not
only between institutions but also between universities and society. He
emphasized that the declaration of 2025 as the “Year of the Family” by
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is an expression of a strong vision for the
future of Türkiye.
He pointed out that inclusion and accessibility is one of the most
important elements of the vision of the Council of Higher Education.
Stating that the number of female students at Turkish universities has
exceeded the number of male students and increased to 51.7 percent, Özvar
said that they have also made specific arrangements for women to
participate more actively in university life, and noted that the granting
of additional quotas in universities for women aged 34 and over is an
important initiative.
Explaining that the protocol will enable cooperation in a wide range of
areas from combating violence to women and disabled individuals' access to
higher education, from volunteer-based social service projects to academia,
Özvar stated that he believes that increasing the coordination between the
Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centers and universities, supporting
girls in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM), and encouraging programs to train experts in areas such as elderly
and disabled care will open the door to great academic and social
transformations.
Özvar stated that within the scope of the protocol, which he described as a
“visionary document”, universities will make their physical spaces
available for ministry activities and contribute to the in-service training
of ministry employees, university students will be supported to practice in
the field in fields such as social work, child protection and family
counseling, and accessibility practices will be expanded at universities.
Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş stated that
the protocol will prepare a new ground that will provide scientific and
structural contribution to the working areas of the ministry. Stating that
they will further strengthen policy development processes with the know-how
of universities, Göktaş said, "We care about making our services reaching
85 million citizens more effective and inclusive with academic support.
While developing these services, we are inspired by scientific data and
academic studies. The protocol prepares a new ground that will provide
scientific and structural contribution to our fields of work."