Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), made the following statements at the Foundation Universities Meeting held at YÖK:

REDUCED BY 23 PERCENT: The total quota was reduced from 1,090,014 to 843,547 in the 2023-2025 period. A total of 246,467 quotas were reduced. The proportional decrease is 23 percent. 107,552 of these quotas are secondary education quotas. In the 2023-2025 period, the quotas of 197 out of a total of 462 undergraduate programs were reduced. The number of quotas in these undergraduate programs decreased by 117,606 in total. In other words, a 40 percent adjustment was made.

TEACHING IS IN THE FIRST PLACE: Among the undergraduate programs with the highest quota decrease were the programs that constitute a resource for teaching. Turkish Language and Literature quotas were reduced from 12,015 to 3,680, and dates were reduced from 10,658 to 3,646. Among the programs of the Faculty of Education; The Science Teaching quota was reduced from 2,864 to 1,219, making it the program whose quota decreased the most.

FOUNDATION UNIVERSITIES ARE ALSO IN THE SCOPE: The decrease in the Faculty of Law quotas in state universities was 4,955, and in foundation universities it was 537. A similar regulation in the quotas of law programs will be implemented in foundation universities in the 2026-2027 academic year. The quota reduction practice in state universities will also be valid for our foundation universities as of 2026. In this context, the quotas of some programs, especially law, psychology, pharmacy, dentistry and architecture, will be reduced at varying rates in foundation universities.

MEDICINE HAS NOT DECREASED: We stopped admitting students to master’s and doctoral programs that have the same name as the specialties entered with the specialization exam in dentistry, that is, DUS. Faculty of Medicine quotas were preserved during this period. The decrease in quotas in health programs has occurred largely in public universities in recent years. In 2026, the quotas for these programs at foundation universities will be re-evaluated and the quotas will be reduced.

THERE IS HIGH DEMAND FOR NEW PROGRAMS: There has been an increase in quotas at varying rates in programs such as Artificial Intelligence Engineering and Cyber ​​Security Engineering, which have been established or gained momentum in the last two years. In the coming period, the quotas of many associate degree programs, especially those whose value in the labor market is weakening, will be reduced and quotas will continue to be given to programs for new professions, especially applied programs.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested and suspended within the scope of a corruption and bribery investigation, was requested to be sentenced to imprisonment from 2 years, 6 months to 8 years and 9 months for the crime of “forgery of official documents in a chain” regarding the fake university diploma.

REJECTION DECISION FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT

The lawsuit that İmamoğlu filed against the cancellation of his university degree by the Istanbul 5th Administrative Court was rejected. In the decision; It was determined that İmamoğlu transferred from a university not recognized by YÖK, that 48 people were admitted to the international quota of only 3 people, that there was no grade ranking among the applicants, and therefore deserving students were eliminated.

AGAINST A JUDGE FOR THE FOURTH TIME

The fourth hearing of the case was held in courtroom number 2 in the Marmara Closed Penal Institution campus in Silivri, due to the inadequacy of the Istanbul 59th Criminal Court of First Instance hall. Ekrem İmamoğlu and his lawyers attended the hearing.

REJECTION DECISION WILL BE EXPECTED

The hearing prosecutor, who was asked for his opinion after Ekrem İmamoğlu’s defense, requested that the Administrative Court be asked whether the decision had become final. The court decided to wait for the finalization of the decision regarding the rejection of the case that İmamoğlu filed with the Istanbul 5th Administrative Court and postponed the hearing to July 6.

SABAH revealed a big scandal before the rally called “We Protect the Will of the Nation, We Do Not Give Our Olives, Air, Water, and Land” held by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel in Muğla’s Milas district yesterday, in order to protect the so-called olive trees. It was revealed that CHP Milas District Chairman Ahmet Kılbey cut down 27 olive trees, each of which was at least 100 years old, on a land in the district. The scandal, which was announced by SABAH with the headline “First the massacre, then the rally”, confused the CHP.

IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION

After the scandal emerged, CHP Milas District Chairman Ahmet Kılbey resigned from his post yesterday, before Özgür Özel’s rally. In the statement made by the CHP Muğla Provincial Directorate, it was stated that “Our party’s vision and strong stance in the locality is an unshakable whole that is always above personal opinions. In this regard, our Milas District Chairman resigned from his position in the light of the recent developments, in order to prevent any damage to our determined march under the leadership of our Chairman and the disciplined stance of our organization.”

HERE IS THE IMAGE OF THE MASSACRE

SABAH has accessed the footage of the olive massacre. In the footage, it was seen that centuries-old olive trees were being slaughtered with construction equipment.

HE ANNOUNCED THE SCANDAL IN THE MORNING

In the scandal that SABAH reported yesterday on the headlines, it was revealed that 27 olive trees, each of which was at least 100 years old, were slaughtered on February 12, on a 3-decare land, which was an olive field, located in Dipsarnıç, Menteş District of Milas, on February 12. After Muğla Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry and Milas District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry teams kept a report, it was determined that the land in question belonged to CHP Milas District Chairman Ahmet Kılbey. While Kılbey said that he transferred the land to his son-in-law Cenk Soydan on December 29, 2025, on February 13, Kılbey was fined 49 thousand 15 TL for removing 27 olive trees on the property, which is an olive field, without permission. It was claimed that Kılbey intended to build on the land.

REACTION FROM MINISTER YUMAKLI

‘YOU COME TO THE SQUARE AND TALK ABOUT PROTECTING OLIVE TREES’

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, İbrahim Yumaklı, in his post, said, “Those who do not leave the floor to anyone, saying that we will defend trees and nature when it comes to the matter, remained silent while dozens of olive trees were being massacred by the Muğla Milas CHP District Chairman. Is it free for CHP members to cut down 100-year-old olive trees? You are good at lying to our nation. And you go to the squares and talk about protecting olive trees. Protecting nature is not possible with words, but with sincerity and consistency. It is important for our nation to protect the environment.” “I leave this double standard, which says sensitivity and plays profit games in the background, to the discretion of our beloved nation,” he said.

WHAT KIND OF TREE LOVE IS THIS?

AK Party Muğla Provincial Chairman Cengizhan Güngör said, “CHP Chairman Özgür Özel is holding an ‘Olive Rally’ in Milas. However, there is a very painful truth that Özel should know. The murderer of the olives he came to defend is his own district chairman. Özel should have canceled this rally. It has been revealed in all its nakedness how CHP Milas District Chairman Ahmet Kılbey, who made an environmentalist show through Akbelen just a few days ago, brutally cut down the olives. Özgür We ask Özel: How will you talk about the love of trees to the people of Milas, when the ‘licensed olive slaughter’ network that your district chairman established with his son-in-law is evident? The resignation of your district chairman, who was caught red-handed, is not enough to cover up this organized insincerity. AK Party Muğla Deputy Kadem Mete said, “Your district chairman cut down the olive groves through hullah. He adopted this method to open his own land for construction, just like the other land opened for construction next to it. There is a consensual action here. Organized hypocrisy. The district chairman gave a power of attorney to his son-in-law, who is a manager in the municipality, to carry out transactions related to the land. The man destroyed the olives first.”

The “Human Rights and Family Summit” will be held by the AK Party Human Rights Presidency at the AK Party Headquarters on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. At the summit, which will bring together representatives of politics, academia and civil society from all over Türkiye, the institution of family will be discussed in all its aspects.

FAMILY AND HUMAN RIGHTS WILL BE ADDRESSED IN 4 SEPARATE SESSIONS: The program includes; Ministers, AK Party deputy chairmen and MPs, former ministers, academics, media representatives and representatives of non-governmental organizations will attend. At the summit, the issue of family and human rights will be discussed in four separate sessions. Within the scope of the program flow, the following topics will be discussed: “What is Family? Biological and Social Reality”, “Family, Law and State: Recognition, Protection and Borders”, “Child, Demography and Population” and “The Future of Culture and Family Norms”.

LEGAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND DEMOGRAPHICAL DIMENSIONS WILL BE DISCUSSED: At the summit, the legal, sociological and demographic dimensions of the family institution will be evaluated in detail.

THE EFFECT OF GLOBAL FAMILY POLICIES ON THE FAMILY: At the summit, it is expected to draw attention to the increase in discussions on the family institution in recent years and to address the effects of policies carried out on a global scale on the family structure.

Bayraktar TB3, developed by Baykar and being the world’s first UAV capable of taking off and landing from short-runway ships, brought the operational capability on TCG ANADOLU to the international arena. Bayraktar TB3 UCAV successfully completed its first operational demonstration abroad within the scope of Steadfast Dart 2026, one of NATO’s most comprehensive exercises. TB3, which took off autonomously in the sea area of ​​​​the exercise, fired a double MAM-L salvo at the designated surface target and destroyed the target. TB3 landed safely on the ship after the operation. It considers the presence of TCG ANADOLU and Bayraktar TB3 duo in the Baltic Sea as one of the most critical elements of allied deterrence within the framework of NATO defense plans.

“DETERRENT” POWER IN THE BALTIC SEA

3 Bayraktar TB3s currently serving in TCG ANADOLU were closely monitored by NATO allies. It is planned that two UCAVs will carry out coordinated operations in the later stages of the exercise. At this stage, while one platform uses MAM-L ammunition, the other platform is expected to fire with MAM-T, which has higher destructive power.

Baykar, which received the Champions of Export Award by being among the top 10 exporting companies in all sectors in Türkiye in 2023 and 2024, became the export leader of the defense and aerospace sector according to the data of the Presidency of Defense Industries and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Baykar, which alone carried out one-third of the sector’s exports in 2023, carried out one-fourth of the total exports of the defense and aerospace sector in 2024, making Türkiye a leader in the global UAV export market. Baykar, the world’s largest unmanned aerial vehicle company, has signed export agreements with 36 countries for the Bayraktar TB2 SİHA and with 16 countries so far for the Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA, a total of 37 countries.

WHY IS STEADFAST DART IMPORTANT?

What makes the 2026 leg of the exercise special is that our Bayraktar TB3 UCAV took the stage. While our national UAV proves to the world how unmanned systems will direct modern naval warfare by taking off from short-runway ships such as TCG ANADOLU and hitting targets with full accuracy, it also confirms Türkiye’s deterrent power in this field. On the other hand, he shared a post about our 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which served in an exercise in NATO.

The “4th European Turkish Media Summit” was held in Gelsenkirchen, Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state. The event organized by the European Union of Turkish Press and Journalists (ATGB) was attended by members of the press from various countries in Europe, as well as politicians and representatives of various associations.

AK Party Deputy Chairman Kürşad Zorlu made a statement to the AA correspondent after his speech here. Zorlu stated that they aim to unite the power of the Turkish world diaspora and said, “Recently, the relations between the Turkish world, especially within the organization of Turkish states, continue to grow and grow. An important pillar of these strengthened relations is to bring together our diaspora power.” he said.

Pointing out that there are nearly 20 million Turks living in various countries of the world outside Türkiye, Zorlu pointed out the importance of both the media and non-governmental organizations in strengthening the Turkish diaspora.

Zorlu pointed out that the recent global fractures in the world, searches for new alliances, and developments taking place in different geographies have also affected Türkiye, and said: “Today, the Republic of Turkey has reached the position of a growing country, strengthened by its national defense industry, which is honorable, independent, and able to make its own decisions in its region, against these fractures, geographical tests, and all the crises that are coming to our door.

In response to these challenges in our nearby geography, Türkiye has become a country that takes steps and follows these steps not only here but also in different geographies against these crises and chaotic processes. “Türkiye has now become a mediator country whose words and beliefs are trusted in calming down many ongoing conflict climates in Africa, the Black Sea, the South Caucasus, the Middle East and Asia.”

Giving the good news that they will implement an important project, Zorlu said, “We will turn the Turkish world civil society workshop, which we held for the first time last year, into a big symposium this year and we will implement a large digital system. The Turkish world civil society support system. With this system, today, we are gathering all the non-governmental organizations in the Turkish world under one roof and linking them with all our institutions in Türkiye. With the click of a button, hopefully all these non-governmental organizations will be gathered in a common network, and our cooperation will continue much stronger.” he said.

Referring to Türkiye’s relations with the EU, Zorlu said: “Today, the collapse in the global system, especially the existence of societies that are rapidly moving away from civilizational values, carries the Republic of Turkey to a very important point, both in its region and in the world, and in the alliances with which it has relations. What did our President say? ‘Turkey is the last exit before the bridge for the European Union.’ In this regard, yes, we see relations with the European Union as strategically important and we want to continue our path in this sense. However, we want our friends in Europe to know this very well: Today, Turkey has become a very important new center of excitement for the EU, with its growing, strengthening, increasing population, dynamic structure and rising cooperation area with these Turkish states I mentioned. From this perspective, this mission that Türkiye has undertaken in many areas from Europe to Asia, from Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean, has great meaning for all of us, for humanity, and for the peace and tranquility of our regions.” At the end of the program, Kürşad Zorlu was given the “Turkish World Service Award”.