Advice to Youth on Education – Part 1

ADVICE TO YOUTH ON EDUCATION (1)

I am an electronics engineer, a graduate of ITU. My subsequent education in France, the USA, and Germany provided me with knowledge in economics, business, law, and philosophy. I completed my MBA at Wharton Business School in the USA, and my doctoral studies at the University of Freiburg-Bishkek University due to my doctoral advisor's relocation.

Due to personal reasons, I could not leave Ankara. From 2007 onwards, I had the opportunity to teach at some educational institutions in Ankara. Despite receiving offers, I chose to stay away from universities. I focused on overseas education. I specialized in exams such as GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, and SAT. For many years, I was the only instructor teaching GRE, GMAT, and SAT courses in Ankara. I had students from every university and every department. I sent over a thousand students abroad for undergraduate, postgraduate, or doctoral (PhD) education. All of them were successful and have no intention of returning to Turkey.

During this process, I had the chance to closely observe the expectations and dreams of high school students and university youth, as well as their conflicts with family and society. Therefore, what I have written reflects the true situation of today's youth and educational institutions in Turkey.

UNIVERSITIES

Unfortunately, all universities in Turkey are far behind the times. Don't be fooled by foreign professors or those who received their doctorates abroad; what matters is the "culture," the internal structure, of educational institutions. This internal structure has become rotten and degenerate. This applies to all universities, including Bilkent, METU, Sabancı, Koç, etc.

Do not be deceived by professors speaking confidently and impressively on television or elsewhere. Their knowledge is limited to 10-20 books. They are individuals who are closed to universal thought and questioning, who have formed their theses and views within the framework of certain political and prejudiced values, who are capricious, one-dimensional thinkers, and capable of adopting a rather "arrogant" attitude. When you see individuals like İlber Ortaylı, who have seen the world and speak many languages, you might initially feel hopeful, but when you carefully evaluate between the lines of their speeches, you can understand that they cannot escape the feeling of chauvinism deeply ingrained in their souls.

Such academics, by speaking grandly, create an aristocratic class in the World of Knowledge. Remember, the concept of knowledge is open and equal to everyone. It is not specially hidden in someone's brain or monopolized by anyone.

Sometimes, newspapers publish university rankings in Turkey. Universities in Istanbul and Ankara are at the top. This leaves an impression on society: if your children graduate from one of these universities, it means they have "secured their future." These are clear manipulations and deceptions. I would like to list the common characteristics of all universities:

• Faculty-student relations are formal and off-putting. Professors want to be seen as "gods." They give the impression that what they say is 100% correct and should not be challenged. Their speeches and gestures are adorned with an inferiority complex.
• Students go to school with a "herd" mentality, sitting silently and listening to lectures.
• The student has only one thought: to succeed in the exam.
• There is no team spirit or teamwork.
• University culture is structured to reward feelings of jealousy rather than scientific competition among students. Success achieved through jealousy has no value. This jealousy is then carried into professional life, turning work life into hell.
• Youth carry a deep despair in their hearts, struggling to get out of bed, almost crawling to educational institutions.
• Students show respect to each other based on the grades they receive; those with the highest grades see themselves as privileged and superior beings.
• The relationship between faculty and student is woven with a mechanism of "fear." Even asking for a letter of recommendation fills the student with fear; they knock on the professor's door with difficulty.
• Professors write perfunctory letters of recommendation and often give the same generic letter to all students who apply to them.
• Nepotism and discrimination are at a high level in universities. Grand rectors, deans, department heads, and professors, violating the principle of academic autonomy, bend over backward to curry favor with senior state officials. In my eyes, a shepherd grazing his sheep in the mountains is more valuable than a rector. Because the shepherd approaches his flock with love, protects them, and holds himself responsible for them. While doing this, they are far from the idea of "nepotism and discrimination." Perhaps the best thing to do in this country is to make shepherds rectors and rectors shepherds.
• Students with Kurdish names like Dilan, Şilan, Mizgin, Adar, Berfin, Berivan, Delal, Rojda, Azad, Baran, Armanç, Kendal become targets of chauvinist professors. I have witnessed this injustice thousands of times. Some professors refuse to give letters of recommendation to students with these names, citing various excuses, or intentionally give them low grades.
• I was in Iğdır in September due to my mother's passing. I was sitting in a hotel lobby, chatting with a valuable businessman. The Governor of Iğdır had hastily called a meeting of Iğdır's "wealthy" business people. While Iğdır University's capacity was 10,000 students, this year – probably due to political pressure – it was increased to 12,000 students. The new 2,000 students have no place to stay. University dormitories are overflowing. The local people do not want to rent their homes to students. The Governor and Rector held a meeting, asking the wealthy people of Iğdır to find a solution to this situation. A truly dire situation! New students who registered returned to their parents' homes because they couldn't find accommodation. In my opinion, the Governor and Rector should have immediately resigned in this situation; with their actions, they should have at least drawn public attention to this negativity. However, the value of the "seat" is more important than the future of the youth.
• Do not think that the era of religious communities in Turkey is over just because the FETÖ organization has been declared an enemy. Hundreds of communities are still active. They reach out to university youth, provide scholarships and opportunities, and aim to gain power within the bureaucracy when they graduate. All community aid should be immediately banned, and these communities should even be closed down for interfering with autonomous universities.
• Youth who are unaware of their own essence and talent cannot develop a vision, meaning they cannot contribute to this country. The internal structure of universities, their culture, and the attitudes and approaches of professors have turned students into "puppets" obligated to complete a certain task. Youth are unaware of their inner talent and what they want.
• Regardless of which university and with what degree a student graduates, they cannot foresee their future after graduation. They know they have to prepare for exams like KPSS to find a job in the state sector, or else they will have to struggle within a spiderweb of friends, acquaintances, and political power, hoping to find a job.
• Youth who cannot find a job after graduating from university live with their families, struggling with unemployment and lack of money on the allowance provided by their parents. Both parents experience disappointment, and the young person turns this situation into a matter of "honor," entering an endless spiral of depression, often leading to family tragedies.
• All exams have turned into a deception. The state bombards young people with exams from childhood, hoping to escape responsibility by saying, "What can I do! You didn't pass the exam." Young people, in turn, lose their self-confidence and blame themselves for not passing the exam. Remember that a young person who blames themselves and holds themselves responsible for their failure is a lost individual.
• Workplaces treat young people over the age of 28 as "old," destroying their hope of finding a job by saying, "We are looking for younger staff."

Dear readers!

In my next article, I will address the question, "What can youth do? How can they revive a new hope?" Hope to see you then…