The debate on the need and the ways to restructure the science system is currently taking place not only in the post-Soviet countries of our region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia) but also in Turkey. For a decade, Turkish authorities have tried, with limited success, to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of the country’s science system.
According to a report based on extensive interviews with 135 scientists, via Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey has not been able to achieve the status of a “scientific society” mainly due to the system’s heavy dependence on the state and political interference.
The 2009 Science Report by the Turkish Academy of Sciences, or TÜBA, states that Turkish universities and scientific research and development centers are lacking, and support for scientific initiatives is insufficient.
Citing data from the Turkish Statistical Institute, or TurkStat, the report notes that out of the total 6.89 billion Turkish Liras (4.4 billion USD) spent on R&D in Turkey, industry contributes 43.8 percent whereas the state contributes 52.2 percent. According to TÜBA, the private sector should ideally contribute 3–4 times as much as the government to R&D.
In addition, the fact that only 338 domestic patents, out of 2,268 applications, were accepted in 2008 means “there is a big gap to cover,” according to the report.
Lack of University Autonomy
“One of the most fundamental functions of the university culture being formed is, without question, independence and autonomy,” TÜBA notes in its report, adding that there is an insufficient level of autonomy at Turkish universities and within the Higher Education Board, or YÖK, which is the governing and regulating body.
According to the report, Turkey gets just three 0.5 points, for a total of 1.5 points, on the 8 criteria for university autonomy identified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its 2003 Education Policy Evaluation.
These 8 criteria are:
- owning its buildings and facilities
- having the freedom to get resources
- using its budget for self-determined goals
- using its own initiative to build its academic structure and programs
- having the authority to hire and fire academic personnel
- determining the salaries of its personnel
- determining the number of students it will accept to its programs
- independently determining student tuition fees
For each of these criteria implemented in full, a country receives 1 point, while it gets 0.5 point for partial implementation.
Mexico, Holland and Australia topped the OECD’s list of 14 countries with 7 points each, while Turkey came in second to last with 1.5 points. Japan received just 1 point, putting it at the bottom of the list.
Waste of Resources
According to the TÜBA report, the science system in Turkey – which is largely affected by the country’s universities and the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, or TÜBİTAK, with TÜBA itself playing “a small but important” role – “does not have the authority to govern itself.”
“The decision-makers in power generally make decisions that determine the scientific activity in Turkey, such as the governing of the universities and the founding of new universities,” the report notes, adding that the resources dedicated to scientific activities are often allocated based on political calculations rather than need.
This leads, according to TÜBA, to situations where “expensive scientific equipment or infrastructure items may remain idle at units lacking the ability to use them.”
TÜBA plans to release a report on the state of science in Turkey on an annual basis. We hope that this initiative will be contagious to other academies of science in the region.
According to a report based on extensive interviews with 135 scientists, via Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey has not been able to achieve the status of a “scientific society” mainly due to the system’s heavy dependence on the state and political interference.
The 2009 Science Report by the Turkish Academy of Sciences, or TÜBA, states that Turkish universities and scientific research and development centers are lacking, and support for scientific initiatives is insufficient.
Citing data from the Turkish Statistical Institute, or TurkStat, the report notes that out of the total 6.89 billion Turkish Liras (4.4 billion USD) spent on R&D in Turkey, industry contributes 43.8 percent whereas the state contributes 52.2 percent. According to TÜBA, the private sector should ideally contribute 3–4 times as much as the government to R&D.
In addition, the fact that only 338 domestic patents, out of 2,268 applications, were accepted in 2008 means “there is a big gap to cover,” according to the report.
Lack of University Autonomy
“One of the most fundamental functions of the university culture being formed is, without question, independence and autonomy,” TÜBA notes in its report, adding that there is an insufficient level of autonomy at Turkish universities and within the Higher Education Board, or YÖK, which is the governing and regulating body.
According to the report, Turkey gets just three 0.5 points, for a total of 1.5 points, on the 8 criteria for university autonomy identified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its 2003 Education Policy Evaluation.
These 8 criteria are:
- owning its buildings and facilities
- having the freedom to get resources
- using its budget for self-determined goals
- using its own initiative to build its academic structure and programs
- having the authority to hire and fire academic personnel
- determining the salaries of its personnel
- determining the number of students it will accept to its programs
- independently determining student tuition fees
For each of these criteria implemented in full, a country receives 1 point, while it gets 0.5 point for partial implementation.
Mexico, Holland and Australia topped the OECD’s list of 14 countries with 7 points each, while Turkey came in second to last with 1.5 points. Japan received just 1 point, putting it at the bottom of the list.
Waste of Resources
According to the TÜBA report, the science system in Turkey – which is largely affected by the country’s universities and the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, or TÜBİTAK, with TÜBA itself playing “a small but important” role – “does not have the authority to govern itself.”
“The decision-makers in power generally make decisions that determine the scientific activity in Turkey, such as the governing of the universities and the founding of new universities,” the report notes, adding that the resources dedicated to scientific activities are often allocated based on political calculations rather than need.
This leads, according to TÜBA, to situations where “expensive scientific equipment or infrastructure items may remain idle at units lacking the ability to use them.”
TÜBA plans to release a report on the state of science in Turkey on an annual basis. We hope that this initiative will be contagious to other academies of science in the region.
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