Turkish police batter, detain university students protesting against online education

22 university students who staged a sit-in protest demanding face-to-face education were battered and detained in Izmir province. Earlier on Feb. 17, the Chair Council of Higher Education (YÖK) announced that universities will start online education to house quake victims in dormitories and they will consider the possibility of hybrid system later.

Duvar English

Turkish police on Feb. 17 battered and detained 22 university students from Dokuz Eylül University in Aegean Izmir province in a sit-in protest against online education.

After the major earthquakes that hit southeastern Turkey, the government decided that  universities will switch to the online education system for the spring semester because the state-owned dormitories will be allocated to the earthquake victims. 

Earlier today, the students met with the Rectorate of Dokuz Eylül University and talked about their needs and demands during this semester. After the meeting, they wanted to organize a sit-in protest in front of the rectorate building, demanding face-to-face education, according to reporting by Mezopotamya News Agency.

The police attacked the students and detained 22 of them. They have been transferred to the hospitals for the health-check procedure.

Earlier on Feb. 17, the Chair Council of Higher Education (YÖK) announced that universities will start online education and they will consider the possibility of hybrid system later. 

On Feb. 16, 460 student clubs from various universities launched a signature campaign to reverse the decision of online education in universities following the earthquakes that devastated 11 provinces centered in Kahramanmaraş.