Unemployment facing legion of research aides

Thousands of research assistants at universities face the threat of unemployment due to a recent decision by the country’s top university board concerning lecturers.

From now on, research assistants who complete their doctorates will be discharged from universities. The assistants are furious about the protocol and the board decision, arguing they have given at least nine years of their lives to the university just to then be shown the door.

According to the higher education law, there are two procedures for the employment of research assistants in universities: they are either assigned by the rector for three years, according to Article 33/a of the law, or they work holding student status with a scholarship for one year according to Article 50/d.

Until today, many administrations in universities were transferring researchers employed under Article 50/d to the status of Article 33/a, which provides for more secure employment.

Transfers no longer possible
However, these transfers are no longer possible with the recent change in regulations. According to the new regulation released last July by the Higher Education Board, or YÖK, all lecturers will be subjected to three exams: the Academic Personnel Postgraduate Education Entrance Exam, or ALES, the Civil Servant Language Exam, or KPDS, and the Interuniversity Board Foreign Language Examination, or ÜDS. Moreover, due to a decision made by the acting board of YÖK last November, researchers working under Article 50/d will not enjoy the opportunity to acquire the status of Article 33/a.

Eğitim-Sen, the union for education and science laborers, has filed a lawsuit against the regulation, calling it unlawful. All assistants working under Article 50/d in Turkey face the same situation. There are approximately 1,000 assistants from just Istanbul and Yıldız Technical universities who will be made unemployed because of the new regulation.

[’They are playing with our fate’]

Erhan Keleşoğlu, a research assistant in Istanbul University’s international relations faculty, said this was a regime change in assignment within universities and their fate was at stake.

"A research assistant spends approximately nine years in a university. If he gets fired after his doctorate has been completed, he is not even paid compensation."
Keleşoğlu said they had been told they would stay at the university after finishing their doctorates. "I am a Middle East expert. I have just finished my doctorate and I am about to be discharged. My faculty have told me to learn Arabic if I was going to become a Middle East expert. I have spent time in the area, learned Arabic. Now, after the doctorate, they are telling me I cannot be a lecturer here. What saddens us is they are toying with our fates so easily."

Zehra Zengin, a research assistant in the architecture faculty of Yıldız Technical University for nine years, did not feel joy when receiving her diploma, "This is a place we have made the effort to stay at. After graduation, I entered the Postgraduate Education Exam (LES), foreign language exams and have been interviewed."

Research assistants unwilling to enter new exams
Zengin said she entered the LES exam to be able to apply for her doctorate that made her subject to an adequacy exam while she was finishing the doctorate. Zengin said it was unfair to be subjected to another exam at this point. "Let us say they hire me under the new regulation, there is no immediate staff hiring. Sometimes you wait for years. Are we going to sit at home? They will not let you continue as a research assistant while you wait."

Zengin said before this new procedure came into effect, research assistants were transferred to 33/a after their doctorate to continue work and to keep being paid even if there was no new staff hiring.

[’My faculty wants me, but....’]

Açelya Temel, a research assistant at Ege University’s international relations faculty, criticized the new procedure, "I will be a forcefully unemployed as I am bound to 50/d. My faculty would have transferred me to 33/a if there had not been the new regulation. Now they cannot keep me in the faculty even though they need me."

Temel said although she had a right that she had earned, now she was required to take an exam in order to return to academic life. Temel said this application favored those who scored high in the ALES, not those who have scientific work experience.