"Fake Professors" Controversy in Turkey; Firm Response from Higher Education President

In recent days, reports published on specialized education websites, including PervinKaplan.com, have once again brought the sensitive issue of "fake professors" and the forgery of academic documents in Turkey to the headlines. Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), responded to these claims during a meeting of the Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports Commission at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), detailing the government's new measures to combat academic corruption [1].

Do Fake Professors Exist in the University System? Responding to questions from representatives about the potential presence of individuals with fake "Professor" titles in universities, Erol Özvar emphasized that given the current academic promotion system in Turkey, such an occurrence is "extremely difficult." He explained that the process of attaining a professorship involves multiple monitoring stages and numerous filters that cannot be easily bypassed [2]. However, he noted that YÖK is sensitive to any documented reports and will initiate immediate investigations if precise information is provided [3].

Criminalizing Document Forgery in the New Law One of the most significant parts of the YÖK President's speech referred to a new bill currently under consideration in Parliament. The goal of this law is to fill existing legal loopholes and establish explicit and heavy penalties for the forgery of diplomas, graduation certificates, and academic documents [2]. Özvar announced that his organization, in cooperation with security agencies and information technology infrastructures, has successfully identified and dismantled several document forgery networks that operated by misusing the digital signatures of government officials [3].

Smart Monitoring and the YÖKSİS System To prevent the recurrence of crises such as the 2025 scandal, in which hundreds were accused of using forged documents [4], YÖK has updated its monitoring systems. Starting October 1, 2026, all certificates issued by university continuing education centers must receive central approval from YÖK and be verifiable through the e-Devlet (Electronic Government) portal [2]. This measure is intended to ensure the authenticity of all documents issued within the Turkish higher education ecosystem.

Focus on Quality Instead of Capacity Özvar concluded his remarks by noting that Turkey is now the second European country, after the United Kingdom, in terms of the number of top universities in the list of the world's top 1000 universities [3]. He emphasized that the era of focusing on increasing capacity has ended, and YÖK's new priority is to enhance quality and protect academic integrity against any suspicion or forgery [1].