ISTANBUL (Medyascope) – Istanbul’s Bilgi University was closed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decree On Thursday morning. Bilgi is a private institution known for its pro-opposition leanings. The move led to major protests on campus by students and faculty. On Monday morning (May 25), in a second decree, Erdoğan announced the decision would be reversed and the university reopened.
By Leo Kendrick • Medyascope
Both decrees released by Erdoğan were just a few sentences long and offered no explanation for either of the decisions. Rumors had first emerged late Sunday afternoon suggesting Erdoğan was considering a reversal.
The controversy over Bilgi University comes amidst major political turmoil over a court’s removal of party leader Özgür Özel from Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), a move widely seen by critics as handicapping Erdoğan’s main political competition and turning the CHP into a regime puppet.
Students clashed with police while attempting to enter the university campus (24 March, 2026 — Murat Türsan, Medyascope)
Istanbul’s Bilgi University closed, reopened 3 days later by presidential decree
Protesting students celebrated the announcement of Bilgi’s reopening late Sunday night and early Monday morning, declaring victory following three days of protest and uncertainty.
Following the closure of the university on Thursday, Bilgi’s 20,000 students had been given little explanation regarding their enrollment status as students. A short announcement from Turkey’s Higher Education Council (YÖK) had stated that Bilgi students would be transferred to the nearby Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Several students who spoke to Medyascope’s Emir Berke Yaşar during this three-day interim wondered whether they would even be able to finish their degrees, given that Mimar Sinan offers different programs than Bilgi and lacks faculties such as engineering.
Bilgi faculty members were left similarly confused during this three-day period regarding their employment status.
Bilgi’s trustee appointment
Bilgi University, long seen as a bastion for pro-opposition faculty and students in Turkey, received a trustee appointment to run the school from Erdoğan’s government in September 2025 amidst allegations that the school’s Can Holding ownership group had been involved in tax evasion and criminal connections.
Since September, Bilgi has been run by a caretaker trustee board appointed by a local court. The fact that the opposition-aligned university had already been taken over by appointees close to Erdoğan added extra confusion to Bilgi’s sudden closure Thursday.
Students, faculty respond to reopening
Bilgi students who spoke to Medyascope Monday morning following the school’s reopening celebrated the reversal but vowed to keep fighting, saying:
“Despite the torture we endured yesterday, we always knew we would not abandon our university. We have managed to reclaim it; our resistance has ended in victory. But our struggle does not end here. No holding company, nor state appointee shall govern our university. This struggle will continue until we govern it ourselves—until we elect our own rector.”
Bilgi faculty member Güventürk Görgülü also spoke to Medyascope, saying:
“We are happy. But we are cautious and uneasy. These days, no one can ever truly be at ease.”
