Current Status of Basic Science Programs Discussed at CoHE
April 18, 2022 /Ankara
The Council of Higher Education held a meeting to evaluate the current
status of basic science programs such as mathematics, physics, chemistry
and biology at universities.
CoHE President Erol Özvar chaired the meeting and CoHE Executive Board
Members and expert academics from various universities attended the
meeting.
In addition to the current status of basic science programs, the
participants also discussed on ways to encourage students with high YKS
placement scores to prefer basic sciences, the current status of research
and technology infrastructures and solutions to improve these
infrastructures, and solutions to improve education quality and to ensure
the employment of graduates.
- “The interest in basic sciences is not at the desired level”
CoHE President Erol Özvar said that they gathered to evaluate the status of
basic science education in Turkey. He stated that they observed that the
interest in the departments of basic sciences such as physics, chemistry,
biology and mathematics at universities was not at the desired level and
that they would try to find solutions to increase the interest in these
departments.
Özvar emphasized that he believed the meeting would contribute to creating
a road map to evaluate the current status of mathematics, physics,
chemistry and biology departments of universities, finding solutions to
problems such as the decrease in the number of students and employment
opportunities of graduates, and present a vision of higher quality
education in basic science departments. He said that he considered this
meeting, which was held with the participation of CoHE representatives,
rectors and scientists from various universities who are experts in their
fields, as the beginning of bringing the issue to the agenda at the highest
level.
On the other hand, he underlined that they had to ensure that competent
young people maintained their interest in basic science fields for the
continuity and development of Turkey's R&D and innovation performance
and said, “We are all aware of the contribution of basic sciences to
research activities and the development of innovative and high-tech
products with high added value. The impact of basic sciences on health
fields such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering fields and the
economy is undeniable.”
The participants shared their opinions on making basic science programs
more attractive for students.
CoHE Deputy President, Prof. M. İ. Safa Kapıcıoğlu, CoHE Executive Board
Member, Prof. Ömer Açıkgöz, Advisors to CoHE President, Assoc. Prof. Bekir
S. Gür and Assoc. Prof. Enes Gök, Bartın University Rector, Prof. Orhan
Uzun, Uşak University Rector, Prof. Ekrem Savaş, former CoHE Member, Prof.
Durmuş Günay, former Rector of Koç University, Prof. Umran Inan,
Institution Advisors to CoHE, Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Çalık, Dr. Maksud Önal,
and F. Betül Coşkun, Tevhide Uçan on behalf of the Head of Education and
Training Department at CoHE, and CoHE experts, Adnan Doğan and Handan
Demir, attended the meeting.
Prof. Muhammet Şakiroğlu, Prof. Müşerref Önal, Prof. İlhami Gülçin, Prof.
Çağatay Tavşanoğlu, Prof. Selim Süalp Çağlar, Prof. Ekbel Özbay, Prof.
Bektaş Tepe, Prof. Havva Yağcı Acar, Prof. Hakan Altan, Prof. Gülay
Özcengiz, Prof. Ezel Boyacı, Prof. Cihangir Tanyeli, Prof. Ferruh Özbudak,
Prof. Ahmet Altındal, Prof. Filiz Vardar, Prof. Meral Birbir, Prof. Elif
Akalın, Prof. Ayşe Erol, Prof. Mustafa Tüzen, Prof. Mustafa Soylak, Prof.
Rana Nomak Sanyal and Prof. Nihat Sadık Değer also attended the meeting.