METU’s appointed rector Verşan Kök restricted the use of the school’s library. METU library will be restricted for use between 8.30-17.15 on weekdays and closed on weekends. METU students responded with the action of not leaving the library.
The METU Rectorate, which announced its decision to switch to online education on February 13, also announced in the same e-mail that the library could be used only between 8.30-17.15 on weekdays. Previously, the library closed at 11:30 p.m. The audio section was open 24 hours a day. METU members responded to this restriction by not leaving the library.
In the statement they made in front of the library about the library restriction, METU students emphasized that they experienced the difficulties of distance education during the pandemic and that, based on these experiences, especially the school’s library is an essential area for students. Stating that the areas they can use to follow online education are minimal and that they have difficulty in accessing quality education, the students explained that the school library is of vital importance due to problems such as the inability of those staying in the family home to create space for themselves, the problems experienced by those staying in the dormitories due to crowded and inadequate study halls.
Stating that the restriction of the use of the library by the government-appointed chancellor Verşan Kök was a violation of the right to education, METU members underlined that this violation deepened the lack of quality of education for themselves.
METU members reacted to the decision taken under the pretext of the ‘budget’ limitations. METU students who entered the library after the announcement did not leave the library until 23.30.
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