84.3% of Voters Do Not Want the President to Appoint Rectors

84.3% of the voters do not want the President to appoint universities’ rectors. 36.5% think that the appointments should be made by the Higher Education Institution, 30.4% by the university academicians, and 17.5% by the students.

The appointment of Melih Bulu as the rector of Bogazici University was met with a reaction from the students. Opposition parties on the subject stated that Bulu did not have sufficient qualifications to be the rector of Bogazici University. The ruling party, on the other hand, argued that the demonstrations were not related to the appointment of the rector, but rather a Gezi Park-like uprising aimed at overthrowing the government.

Turkey Monitor asked the opinion of voters in three different ways. In the first question, the voters were asked how they saw the Bogazici protests. 61.4% of the participants stated that the demonstrations were related to the appointment of the rector. 38.6 percent evaluated the demonstrations as protests targeting the government.

In the second stage, a simulation question was asked to the participants. The participants were asked with three options what kind of decision they would take if they were the President. 43.6% said they would dismiss the rector or demand the resignation of the rector. 32% stated that they would not allow student demonstrations and would intervene. The rate of participants who stated that they would allow the demonstrations was 24.5%.

At the last stage, the participants of the research were asked by whom they would like to appoint the rector. 36.5% of the participants said that the Higher Education Institution should decide on the appointment of the rector. 30.4% stated that university academicians and 17.5% stated that university students should decide on the rector. The rate of those who stated that the President should decide to appoint a rector was 15.7%.