Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz stated that they hosted young people receiving postgraduate education in more than 40 countries.

 

Stating that they were very pleased to meet with young people whom they see as the guarantee of a bright future, Yılmaz thanked the Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin and his team for making this meeting possible. Wishing that the students' educational lives abroad would be successful for themselves, their families, the country and the nation, Vice President Yılmaz wished the students success in their studies during their education and professional lives. Yılmaz conveyed best wishes and the greetings of the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who strives to carry the country to the Century of Türkiye on the shoulders of qualified human resources.

 

Stating that each student in the hall represents a deep-rooted tradition that has left its mark on education and development causes, Yılmaz said that, as a nation, they have been sending the most successful students abroad for education, training and information for more than two and a half centuries. Stating that they sent students first to France and then to Germany as the Ottoman state entered a period of stagnation and decline, Yılmaz underlined that the practice of sending students to study abroad, which started with Sultan Selim III, continued after the proclamation of the Republic. Stating that Türkiye, which emerged victorious from a great war in which it sacrificed many educated children, needs educated people to continue its recovery and development journey, Yılmaz said that although economic opportunities were very limited, more than 400 people were employed in the first 10 years of the Republic. Sharing the information that the number of students who went abroad with state scholarships from the first years of the Republic until 2002 was around 10 thousand, Yılmaz said that most of these students returned to the country and carried out successful studies in different fields to pay their debt of gratitude to the nation. Stating there is a vast number of people who went abroad as scholars and currently serve Türkiye as ministers, senior bureaucrats and heads of institutions, Yılmaz said that one of these people is İhsan Süreyya Sırma.

 

Stating that when they took over the responsibility of governing the country in 2002 under the strong leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Yılmaz stressed that they gave great importance and priority to this issue, like all other issues related to education. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said that they started to send students abroad with the "5 Thousand Students in 5 Years Project" that they realized in 2006. Sharing the information that the number of students who went abroad with scholarships during their government so far is 12 thousand, Yılmaz emphasized that 56 percent of the 21 thousand 500 students who went abroad within the scope of the program throughout the history of the Republic have had this opportunity in the last 20 years.

 

Explaining that they did not only increase the quotas, Vice President Yılmaz added that they determined in which areas the country needed more trained human resources. Stating that they have determined strategic issues such as energy, defense, aviation, cyber security, artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical and vaccination studies that will contribute to Türkiye's development move, Yılmaz said that they have expanded the range of countries to which students are sent according to the country's foreign policy priorities. In addition to Europe and America, Yılmaz stated that they added more than 50 countries and regions with which they have strategic relations, such as India, Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa, Tunisia and Azerbaijan to the list. Emphasizing that they look at the world as a whole, Yılmaz said that they do not see one region as an alternative to another.

 

Stating that there are currently 3 thousand 415 students in 48 countries, 123 universities and 40 different public institutions, Yılmaz stressed that the most important problem that scholarship students experience when they return is to be staff. Yılmaz stated that they ensure that students can be appointed to positions suitable for their education in the universities they registered, without looking for staff restrictions.

 

Stating that they removed the resignation requirement for candidates who are civil servants and want to benefit from the scholarship, Yılmaz said that these people do not lose their civil service positions when they go abroad as scholarship students.

 

Underlining that they are aware that inflation, which has reached its peak in the last 60-70 years in the world, also affects scholarship students studying abroad, Yılmaz emphasized that they are trying to solve these problems as much as possible while struggling with the economic difficulties caused by the February 6 earthquakes. Emphasizing that they have not spared any sacrifices so that the students can continue their education in the best way and under the best conditions, Yılmaz stated that they will continue to support the students. 

 

Stating that as members of a faith whose first commandment is "read" and people of the Prophet says "The word of wisdom is the lost property of the believer. Wherever he finds it, he is most worthy of it.", Vice President Yılmaz noted that this civilization has established many cities throughout history and aims to bring the truth to society. Stating that the world of science, from astronomy to medical sciences, received its first source from its own roots, from Bukhara, Samarkand, Baghdad and Cordoba, Yilmaz said that they are striving to be a pioneer in science today by using the accumulation of 21 civilizations. Yılmaz emphasized that they continue to encourage local and national design, patents, production and technology in every field under the leadership of President Erdoğan in order to maintain Türkiye's competitiveness and to make it fully independent in every field.

 

Emphasizing that dreams and ideas should never be neglected, Vice President Yılmaz pointed out that everything starts with a dream and an idea.

 

Stating that dreams and ideas should be projected with knowledge, determination and work, Yılmaz underlined that these projects should be implemented by prioritizing the areas needed by the society. He said that students who go abroad and embark on a journey of wisdom will be the ones who shape the future in science and technology as Türkiye's qualified human resources. Underlining that they will be individuals who can produce solutions to problems, Yılmaz emphasized that development, economy and technology are concepts that exist to serve the people. Yılmaz said that humankind is their greatest wealth in this sense.

 

Vice President Yılmaz stressed that they have a long list of pride consisting of Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin, Nobel Prize winning scientist Prof. Dr. Aziz Sancar, Necmettin Erbakan and the 8th President of Türkiye Turgut Özal.

 

Stating that they have increased the scholarships from 1.780 dollars to 2.426 dollars per month in the USA, from 1.200 pounds to 1.646 pounds per month in the UK, from 1.490 euros to 1.993 euros per month in Germany, including the stationery allowance. Stating that there was an increase of around 26-27 percent in real terms, Yılmaz expressed his gratitude to the President on behalf of the students.

 

Pointing out that all kinds of sacrifices were made in the cabinet regarding people and education, Yılmaz stated that significant progress was made in order not to affect the students more with the inflation in the world.

 

Quoting from the author-academic Nurettin Topçu, who studied higher education abroad with a state scholarship saying, "Every society gains value in the face of its own youth." Yılmaz underlined that they will do whatever is necessary for the students. Asking the students to do good deeds for their families and the nation and be a hope for the Century of Türkiye, Yılmaz stated that they entered the Century of Türkiye by preserving all their achievements. Expressing that the  Century of Türkiye is the century of 86 million, Yılmaz underlined that Türkiye will rise to a very different level in this new era, on the shoulders of qualified young people.

 

Reminding that he and former Minister of National Education Nabi Avcı, started working at the Ministry of National Education in 2013, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin said that while he was serving as undersecretary in those years, they held meetings with the participation of the President of TÜBİTAK, The President of YÖK, The President of  ÖSYM, Minister Tekin underlined that one of the first issues they discussed at the meeting was state scholarships within the scope of the Law No. 1416.

 

Explaining that he passed the exam to obtain a scholarship and become scholarship student while he was an assistant at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, but received a letter from the Ministry during the February 28 period, rejecting him, Tekin stated that they had the opportunity to make decisions for scholarship students as part of the Law. No. 1416 in 2013.

 

Mentioning the meetings they hold with former Minister Nabi Avcı during his years as undersecretary on the issues that needed to be reviewed regarding the 1416 scholarship students, Minister Tekin said that this scholarship system was tried to be turned into a mechanism for sending people abroad by FETO in 2013.

 

Stating that one of the important issues underlying the legal regulation they made regarding "The Law. No. 1416" in those years was hidden in Nabi Avcı's character, Minister Tekin stated that people solved their problems by talking to the bureaucratic and political structures of that time.

 

Noting that they produced solutions to the problems of the scholars such as flight tickets, health expenses, and staff status when they returned to their countries, Tekin said that they took measures to solve both the economic, academic and humanitarian problems of the people in that period, with the instructions of the Minister of the time, Nabi Avcı. Minister Tekin thanked Minister Avcı for his efforts. 

 

Stating that in those years, they added a field titled country and regional studies to the program in order to train experts on Türkiye's foreign policy, Tekin stated that they made arrangements for scholarship students trained in countries that were expected to develop Türkiye's foreign policy relations and selected nearly 500 scholars in this field.

 

Explaining that they asked the scholars to do their thesis studies on different subjects and to develop them in a way that they could recognize the socioeconomic and social structure of the countries they live in, Tekin said that they also classified the universities in Türkiye in a way that clustered them with certain studies.

 

Recalling the story of Aziz Nesin called "Seyyar Köfteciler Talimatnamesi", Minister Tekin stated that they took the necessary precautions with Nabi Avcı to ensure that people do not suffer when they return from abroad and to be appointed to positions appropriate to their education and academic status. Stating that they always meet with scholarship students on every foreign trip they go on, Minister Tekin said that they listen to the work related to these people from the ambassadors and that they encouraged and will continue to encourage the ambassadors to solve the problems of these people.

 

He underlined that he, as the Minister of National Education, has a team in the Ministry that will support all kinds of problems of the scholars and will do their best to ensure that they receive the education they deserve in Türkiye.

 

Expressing his gratitude to President Erdoğan for sending scholars abroad twice as much as the number of scholars were sent until 2002, thanks to the '5 thousand scholars in 5 years' Project, Minister Tekin reiterated that they are a team that can and will want to solve all the problems of the scholars. Minister Tekin expressed that they are here to reward the success of the scholars and give them the value they deserve.