Prof. Dr. Behçet Yalın Özkara Resigns from Academia Following Higher Education Council (YÖK) Decision
Following YÖK's restriction on social media income, Prof. Dr. Behçet Yalın Özkara will leave his professorship at the state university based on the results of a poll.
Following the decision by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) limiting public servant academics from generating income from digital channels, Prof. Dr. Behçet Yalın Özkara announced that he will resign from his professorship at the state university based on the outcome of a poll.
YÖK Decision and Digital Publishing
The Council of Higher Education's decision restricting public servant academics from earning income from digital platforms has sparked a debate about the future of academics who are digital content creators. Following the decision, Prof. Dr. Behçet Yalın Özkara presented the status of his YouTube channel to his viewers and announced that he would resign from his professorship at the state university after a vote was held.
Resignation and Voting Process
Stating that 53.9 percent of poll participants voted in favor of continuing digital broadcasting activities, Prof. Dr. Özkara reported that he would initiate the official resignation process due to potential disciplinary investigations and legislative obstacles. Emphasizing that he will not resort to methods such as broadcasting through other names or establishing a company, Özkara stated that the resignation procedures will take about a month.
Donation of Funds to Foundations
In the vote regarding the science center project planned for financially disadvantaged youth, 51.4 percent of participants voted to halt the project and donate the accumulated funds. It was announced that all of the approximately 6 million TL resources collected within the channel will be transferred to an institution to be determined by followers among the Community Volunteers Foundation, Koruncuk Foundation, Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey, and Turkish Education Foundation.
Legal Grounds and Previous Developments
In line with the letter sent by the Presidency's Secretariat General to YÖK, the generation of income by public servant academics via YouTube and similar digital platforms was evaluated within the scope of the commercial activity ban stipulated in Article 28 of the Civil Servants Law No. 657. Following this decision, numerous academics had announced their decision to shut down their lecture and science content channels.