Recently, the Chairman of the Higher Education Council (HEC) said: "We have established many new universities; so we are in need of instructors. Now we are looking ways to facilitate bringing instructors from abroad. What is more, we will also allow them to work in jobs outside the university." I do not know what you think, but found this statement surprisingly sound and wise. I was surprise because I am not used to hear such wise things from the HEC. But I believe that this time HEC Chairman initiated a quite beneficial discussion. Let us see why. If you want to take a walk at the undiscovered roads, please join me down the article. The first tour begins.

What would you think when you hear the above statement of the HEC Chairman? To begin with, you could say "Why do you issue licenses without deciding how to operate the new universities?" This would be the classical reaction. After all, it is HEC which issues licenses for new universities. Moreover, it is also the HEC which has to guarantee that the students to go to the new universities will receive education at a certain level of quality. And instructors are the main indicators for the quality of services to be provided by a specific university. Then, you can ask "If there are not enough instructors why did they open those new universities?" But please do not; as you have read so far please give a chance to the second point I will state.

If the norm in our minds is that Turkey needs new universities and a labor force to be furnished with a higher set of skills in these universities, then we can only be sorry about the lack of instructors. There is nothing to do but regret for neglecting this issue earlier. What we should to, in that case is to think how this constraint can be overcome. It would be necessary to discuss whether or not it is necessary to make more use of the old instructors. As instructors cannot be trained overnight, Turkey has to wait longer for a labor force with a better set of skills. On the other hand, the deepening of the industrialization process requires the improvement of the skill set of the labor force. You will train instructors; then they will train students. But in the meanwhile the demographic window of opportunity will be closed. Young unemployed, if can grow older without provoking a quarrel, they will become middle aged 'maids of all work'. A generation will completely be wasted. The opportunity we have today will be missed. This is the exact point what makes the statement by the HEC Chairman sound.

In this context the third issue we should keep in mind is that the HEC Chairman spoke on an issue among the fundamental duties of the HEC. The matter in question is a fundamental policy determination issue. In the first years of the republic, founding cadres chose a similar method to overcome the qualified labor shortage and imported instructors from abroad, particularly those running away from the Nazi oppression, did not they? Today, though the circumstances are quite different, the necessity is the same. To be competitive in the twenty first century Turkey's economy needs the qualified labor force to be trained in universities. Otherwise, the universities cannot fulfill their part. In this lens, Turkey needs a new immigration policy. If not, under the existing legislation it is quite hard to get a work permit for a foreign national. I know this because I tried to do so at TEPAV once. Therefore, the statement in question is quite wise despite the usual concerns of the HEC. It is compatible with the original function of the Council. It does not imply a senseless intervention in the daily works of universities.

The fourth point is: Turkey is exposed to intense illegal immigration from neighboring countries. There are no official figures and there exists many rumors. Moreover, Turkey has recently become a center of attraction for the people of the region who wants to earn their lives. The funniest part of this story, for me, is that these people are called 'illegal immigrants'. Illegal immigrant refers to a person who lives and works in a particular country avoiding the immigration policies of that country.  However, illegal immigrants in Turkey are so because Turkey does not have a contemporary policy framework pertaining to immigration. The main problem is that the regulations, which define even asylums as illegal immigrants, belongs to the previous century and is devised with an emphasis on security.

So the issue is this: Assume that you are a math genius. You have thousands of publications. You came to Turkey; you considered the county as a center of attraction. You adore the cuisine, the culture, the cities and the beaches. You are confident that you can find a job. In fact, you even arranged one in one of the big and attractive cities. In that case, the agency you have to apply to live and work in Turkey is the Ministry of Interior. Ministry officials are highly friendly. But the legislation is clear. They send you to a small and cure Anatolian city where they can monitor you easily. So, you are in Çorum, let's say. You can think "I am of no use here. I would better live in another place where I can make a contribution as a productive person and look for a job there." But the legislation does not allow. Officials at the Ministry of Interior understand you, bur they have nothing to do. What happens in the meanwhile? You get tired and leave the country. This is what Turkey has experienced after the collapse of the Soviet Union. I can even list the names.

The fifth point to state is hidden in the data. As UNDP Education Index reveals, neighboring countries including Georgia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Armenia, Palestine, Russia, Albania, Jordan, and Serbia perform better then Turkey considering their educated population. There exists an exploitable pool of skills. Quite close, actually. In the meanwhile, Turkey has been shining as a star in the region. Nonetheless, the country does not even have an immigration policy. Sorry, let me correct: Turkey does not have an immigration policy that matches with the industrialization strategy. So the question is; can a country which believes it does not need to have an immigration policy become the regional power? And this is the old question continued: "Can a country with no economic policy have foreign policy? The answer is no; not at this era. The issue is related not only with the university system in Turkey. The issue, I think, is broader.

This time Yusuf Ziya Özcan, Chairman of HEC, drew attention to a good point. We had better go on with the discussion he has started.

This commentary was published in Referans daily on 22.07.2010