Şırnak University report from the Court of Accounts: Academic staff announcements delivered to your address

In the Şırnak University 2025 Audit Report of the Court of Accounts, it was determined that objective and auditable criteria were not complied with in the recruitment announcements for faculty positions, and that some announcements included conditions aimed at identifying a specific candidate and preventing academic competition. In the report, it was stated that people who had books, articles or doctoral theses regarding the conditions set as criteria for appointments were recruited, and only one person applied for almost all of the positions.

SPECIFIC STUDY TOPICS ARE REQUIRED IN SOME ADVERTISEMENTS

In the Court of Accounts report, examples of some additional criteria determined for faculty positions were given. In the advertisements, it was stated that candidates were required to have worked in certain and very specific fields.

Among the criteria shown as examples in the report; Having the title of associate professor in the field of Horticulture Cultivation and Breeding, and having worked on "biotic and abiotic stress in vegetables", "vegetable cultivation in greenhouses", "water stress in industrial tomatoes" and "plant nutrition"; Conditions included having the title of associate professor in the field of Plant Protection science and having conducted studies on "entomopathogenic nematodes", "plant parasitic nematodes", "insecticide and acaricide resistance in agricultural pests".

In other examples, having a master's degree and doctorate degree in the field of Animal Science and having worked on "analysis of cattle data with piecewise regression and logistic regression"; Having done studies on "Verse-Sura relationship" and "Ibadiyya's understanding of tafsir" in the science of tafsir; Criteria such as having done studies on "the basic hadith texts and hadiths of Shia" were included.

The report also includes having the title of associate professor in the field of Management and Strategy and having worked on "organizational and female employees"; He has a bachelor's degree, a master's degree and an associate professorship in the field of Mechanical Engineering and has scientific studies on "Vibration control and PID-based control systems"; Conditions such as having a doctorate degree in Civil Engineering and having worked in the fields of "hydrokinetic energy" and "Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)" were also cited as examples.

"CONDITIONS THAT REFER TO THE PERSON ARE REQUESTED IN THE ADVERTISEMENTS"

Based on these examples, the Court of Accounts evaluated that the principles of objectivity and auditability stipulated in Law No. 2547 were not respected in the additional criteria determined for faculty positions. The report emphasized that the advertisements required "specific conditions that evoke a certain person".

It was noted that during the inspections, it was observed that all faculty members appointed to the positions had books, articles or doctoral theses related to the conditions set as criteria. As a result, it was determined that only one person could apply for almost all of the positions to be recruited, and the same people were recruited.

YÖK'S "ADVERTISEMENT POINTING TO THE PERSON" WARNING WAS INCLUDED IN THE REPORT

The Court of Accounts also included in its report the information note published by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) regarding the additional conditions required for academic staff announcements.

In the information note of YÖK, it was stated that there were complaints that universities set additional conditions in the recruitment of academic personnel, but some conditions were determined specifically to point to a certain candidate. It was stated that there were great similarities between the additional conditions specified in some announcements and the publications of the appointed people, and that in some appointments, the titles of the people's master's or doctoral thesis were determined as additional conditions.

"AGAINST THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY"

The information note also stated that setting restrictive and anti-competitive conditions that cannot be explained by differences between scientific disciplines on the grounds of scientific quality may be contrary to the principle of equality of the Constitution and the Higher Education Law No. 2547, that such appointments may be annulled if brought to court, and administrative and criminal liability may arise for the officials involved in the appointment procedures.

THE UNIVERSITY'S DEFENSE DID NOT MEET THE DETECTION

Şırnak University, in its response to the Court of Accounts, argued that the announcement conditions were checked on the YÖK Academic page and that care was taken not to have personal advertisement requirements. The university also stated that academic studies regarding the announcement conditions are being evaluated.

However, the Court of Accounts evaluated that the university's response did not meet the determination that the advertisements, examples of which were given in the report, were aimed at identifying individuals and preventing academic competition.

The Court of Accounts stated that the additional conditions determined in the faculty member recruitment announcements are aimed at identifying the person and prevent academic competition, and that it is contrary to the principle of equality of the Constitution and the Higher Education Law No. 2547, and stated that matters contrary to objective criteria should not be included in the recruitment announcements for faculty positions.