CoHE President Özvar Attends International Meeting “Restructuring of
Higher Education in Türkiye: Innovations, Challenges and Solutions”
May 26, 2025
Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, attended an
international meeting entitled “Restructuring Higher Education in Türkiye:
Innovations, Challenges and Solutions” organized by Eğitim-Bir-Sen and Ibn
Haldun University.
In his opening speech, Özvar stated that the Turkish higher education
system has become more competitive in the global higher education field
with its institutional transformation, qualified human resources
investments and international visibility goals, especially in recent years.
He emphasized that the Council of Higher Education has developed a
comprehensive vision in recent years in order to make Turkish higher
education globally competitive, inclusive and qualified.
Özvar stated that fair access to education is one of the prominent features
of developed societies. He emphasized that strengthening universities as
centers of scientific production is the key to knowledge-based economic
development and stated that with the Regional Development Oriented Mission
Differentiation Program, Turkish universities are transformed into
institutions that provide solutions to local needs and support regional
development through their scientific production.
He stated that Turkish universities have become a center of attraction for
international students thanks to the right policies and incentives
implemented by the Government and the efforts of the Council of Higher
Education. Pointing out that the Türkiye-Azerbaijan University in Baku and
the International University of Turkic States in Tashkent are new and
pioneering examples of the Turkish higher education system, Özvar said that
Gazi University will open an academic branch in Kazakhstan this year and
that efforts are underway to establish joint universities in Syria,
Albania, Egypt, Turkmenistan and Iraq.
Referring to the Gaza incidents in his speech and pointing out that a great
genocide is being practiced in Palestine, Özvar said: “We opened Turkish
universities to students whose universities were destroyed and who had to
be expelled from their countries. The universities opened their doors not
only to the students in Gaza, but also to those in Africa and Sudan whose
universities were closed due to civil unrest and whose students went
abroad. Today, three university rectors, students and faculty members from
Sudan continue their education on our campuses in three provinces.”
Özvar stated that the Council of Higher Education has placed the quality
assurance system at the center of all education processes.
Stating that the positive outcomes of the works of the Council of Higher
Education are also reflected in international university rankings, Özvar
said, “We currently have seven universities that have managed to enter the
top 500 in different ranking organizations, two of which are currently in
the top 300. Our goal is to ensure the structural transformation necessary
for at least 10 universities to enter the top 500 in the coming years and
to see a Turkish university in the top 100.”