Yodak accreditation

Tatar, ’s bodyguard ‘lost phone on way to police station’

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Tatar, ’s bodyguard ‘lost phone on way to police station’

Serif Avcil, the bodyguard of Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, claimed he lost his phone on the way to the police station, according to police sergeant Bilger Koral. Avcil was arrested and had his second court hearing where it was revealed he registered for a master’s degree at Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University on June 5 last year, but the university’s records showed his enrollment date as February 2, 2022. Fake course grades were entered for Avcil, allowing him to graduate top of his class on June 19. He also claimed to not know where his diploma certificate was. Avcil was given a further six-day remand for not assisting the police by hiding evidence. Dervish Refikler, general secretary of the north’s higher education accreditation authority, was also in court for taking bribes related to the accreditation of KSTU’s medical school. Items including laptops and a diploma were seized from Refikler’s house, and he too was given a further six-day remand.

Turgay Avci resigns as Yodak chairman

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Turgay Avci resigns as Yodak chairman

– Turgay Avci resigned as chairman of the north’s higher education accreditation authority (Yodak) on Friday.
– Avci resigned after a scandal involving alleged forgery of diplomas and bribes in the north’s higher education sector.
– Avci and former Yodak board member Mehmet Hasguler are accused of taking under-the-table payments during the Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University (KSTU)’s medicine school’s application for Yodak accreditation.
– Both Avci and Hasguler were released on bail.
– Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar had called for Avci’s resignation and instructed the north’s supreme court to fire him.
– Yodak’s deputy chairman, Hasan Amca, took temporary charge of the authority amid the criminal proceedings against Avci.

‘We should ask why there are so many medical schools’

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‘We should ask why there are so many medical schools’

Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar addressed the “fake diploma scandal” affecting the north’s higher education sector. He mentioned criticism regarding the excessive number of medical and dental schools relative to the population and suggested that the north’s higher education accreditation authority (Yodak) might have been negligent. Tatar had previously called for Yodak chairman Turgay Avci to resign due to allegations of bribery during the accreditation process of the Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University (KSTU)’s medicine school. The north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel stated the ‘government’ is actively addressing the issue to minimize negative impacts on the higher education sector and emphasized the importance of justice and maintaining the country’s reputation.