Our Board Chairman Dr. Fatmanur Altun spoke to Emeti Saruhan from Gerçek Hayat Magazine.

Highlights from the interview;

-If we compare the current situation with the past regarding the accommodation needs of university students, how are we doing?

When I look back 10 years, I see that the accommodation facilities provided by the state were not sufficient in terms of capacity. As you know, Turkey is a country with a large number of students. In this sense, the activities carried out by civil society organizations played a lifesaving role. NGOs took on an important mission by supporting students' educational lives with the opportunities they provided. In the following years, the state made a significant leap in addressing students' accommodation needs. This situation has also relieved NGOs on one hand because providing dormitory services is one of the most challenging tasks within civil society activities. Thankfully, there has been a significant relaxation in recent years. I believe that today both the state and NGOs respond to this need much better.

FETÖ exploited children in underground dormitories

-FETÖ had many dormitories as well. Were the students there victimized after these dormitories were closed?

Before July 15, we had the perception that FETÖ was a serious presence in education with its houses and dormitories. However, after July 15, we saw that the places operating under FETÖ, especially dormitories and student houses, did not meet the criteria for being a dormitory or a student house at all. When we saw the dormitories taken over from FETÖ, we were truly horrified. It became clear that there was a serious problem for our children. However, since these children were targeted from middle school, high school, and even in some cases from elementary school, their loyalty was exploited, and the students never questioned the quality of service. These students were not only exposed to low standards but also witnessed how they were subjected to brainwashing and exploitation on July 15. In this sense, FETÖ's removal from the system not only prevented a crisis but also lifted a significant burden from the system.

Parents' eyes are not left behind

-What criteria do students look for in dormitories?

Here, we can talk about both the criteria of students and those of families. Students are primarily looking for comfort and a suitable study environment. For families, the first criterion is security. Parents are looking for a place where they can leave their children without worrying. Thankfully, as TÜRGEV, we can meet all these criteria. We create comfortable spaces for our students. We host some of the dormitories with the largest square meter area per student. We strive to provide all the necessary conditions for our students' studies, from study rooms to the working opportunities in their rooms.

Dormitories are more essential for girls

-Why does TÜRGEV only serve female students?

Serving female students is the reason for the existence of TÜRGEV. As a country that was newly established and has gone through various traumas at the beginning of the 20th century, we initially focused on urgent needs, similar to other non-Western societies, and the education of boys was prioritized. This perception became entrenched, especially in more traditional and conservative families. Because it was thought that boys would provide for the family, and it was relatively more difficult to provide educational opportunities for girls. This is something I have heard a lot from my parents; you can rent a house for a boy even if you don't think it's a good place, but when it comes to a girl, immediately other criteria come into play: Will she be safe? Will something happen to her? Parents think of many things. Therefore, it is more challenging to invest in girls.
For the reasons I mentioned, families were using their resources for their male children, but on the other hand, they also wanted their daughters to be educated and secure their futures. During his tenure as the Mayor of Istanbul, conservative families came to our President Erdoğan, whom they saw as a high-ranking politician representing them, asking for help. They said, "We want to educate our daughters. But we don't know how they will be safe in these big cities. Please help us with this, do something." In response, our President directed the establishment of a foundation that would only serve female students. As a result, two dormitories were opened under the name İSEGEV, first in Hasanpaşa and then in Samatya, specifically to serve female students - and of course, it received significant interest. I am also one of the first students of İSEGEV, and these dormitories felt like an oasis in the desert for us.

-How many dormitories do you currently have as TÜRGEV?

We have 63 dormitories located in 32 provinces. We have 10 secondary education and 53 higher education dormitories.

We are looking for awareness, not references

-What opportunities are available for students to develop themselves in the dormitories?

Our motto is "More than a dormitory." Because the educational activities offered in our dormitories are almost at the level of a university education. First of all, we have seminars. We host important figures in various fields in our dormitories. We have various workshops created according to our students' interests. If a student wants to play the lute, wants to play the piano, or wants to play the ney, we provide these opportunities. Or if they want to paint, they go to the painting workshop. In this sense, we offer a very wide range, and our students have the opportunity to try out until they discover their interests in these workshops. Sometimes they discover their talents in areas they never expected. While we thought they would be amateur artists or athletes, suddenly we started to see performers. We began to think that we are moving towards a school that will have an impact in sports and especially in art in the coming periods.

-So, is it easy to enter the dormitories? What are your criteria for selecting students? For example, is a reference absolutely necessary, can everyone enter?

Let me put it this way, entering TÜRGEV dormitories is both very easy and very difficult. There is a perception that you can only enter if you have a reference to TÜRGEV, but that is not true. We implement an interview system as TÜRGEV. We do not consider a student based on a CV without interacting with them, nor do we consider them as a relative, sibling, spouse, or friend of person “a” or person “b.” We consider the student directly as themselves. We talk to the student, look them in the eye, and so to speak, weigh them. Because we expect our students to do work that will benefit this homeland, this country, and the ummah, and at least to have some awareness in this regard. Another expectation we have is that they are at least aware that these opportunities are provided as a result of a sacrifice and that this is a foundation service. In other words, we do not accept a student who says, "My aunt forced me to come here; I actually don't want to stay here at all," regardless of who their aunt is. If we try to offer these services to someone who is not ready to receive them, then we would betray the understanding of a foundation.

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Those who want to attack the government are slandering TÜRGEV

-We say it is a foundation service, but ultimately the dormitories are paid, and there are complaints about the high fees. How do you determine the fees?

Of course, we provide a foundation service, but as I mentioned earlier, the dormitory service is one of the most challenging and costly services among civil society services. The services we offer to our students in our dormitories cover more than the current dormitory fees. Since the year we were established, we have largely subsidized our students in this regard. Now, at this point, our state provides food and accommodation assistance. It has also been discussed that students benefiting from services from NGOs - again with the understanding that they are students of this country - should be subsidized, although not as much as students staying in state dormitories. Thus, we have been able to share the heavy burden on us a little with our state.
The paper-based part of this accommodation and food assistance provided by our state created the perception that our dormitory fees have increased visibly. In fact, we shared with our students and parents that this is not the case. The food and accommodation assistance provided by our state through students has created opportunities for both our students and our foundations to ensure the quality and continuity of many opportunities and services we offer to our girls.

We provide scholarships to those in need

Can you give a figure, for example, an average of this much in Istanbul, this much in Ankara?

Our fees vary from dormitory to dormitory, so I cannot provide a specific figure. After all, we are talking about 63 dormitories. But I must say that we keep our prices at a reasonable level while also implementing a very active scholarship policy. We ensure that students in need and those with high success rankings receive scholarships ranging from completely free to a certain amount of paid. Because if you take even 50 lira from a student in need, you betray the understanding of a foundation. Likewise, if you keep prices low and demand the amount you ask from a child who has no need, who is really in serious means, from a student in need, you would again betray the understanding of a foundation. Therefore, we keep our fees at a reasonable level; we approach the issue with a certain sensitivity by seriously supporting needy and successful students with our scholarships.

Allegations of land donations are ridiculous

-From time to time, TÜRGEV comes to the agenda with news of land donations made to it. What is the reason for this?

TÜRGEV first came under the radar of FETÖ. We certainly did not know before that it was a terrorist organization with international connections, which also had an intelligence wing. FETÖ was entering every field under the title of "education" to legitimize itself and was operating very comfortably. That field functioned like an important treasure that FETÖ used to recruit people. As TÜRGEV, we also operate in the field of education. We have always aimed for our students to be thinking and questioning individuals through the education we provide. None of our students join any ambiguous structures. We are very assertive about this. FETÖ knew this, so it thought that if TÜRGEV developed further and reached more students and families and continued to provide these opportunities, its fake dormitories, houses, and the brainwashing sessions it provided under the name of education would not hold. Therefore, TÜRGEV became a direct target of FETÖ. Since the December 17-25 process, it has been attempted to portray it as a money laundering and corruption center. This narrative did not resonate with the vast majority of society. However, this process did not end until July 15. Unfounded slanders were attempted to be attached to both our President and the government and to us. In short, TÜRGEV became a useful tool for some to attack the government. TÜRGEV is an institution with all its accounts transparent, which anyone who wants to investigate can easily see, and it is a structure that operates within the framework of laws, accountable to the state, and not different from other NGOs.