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Seventeen private foundation universities in Türkiye risk losing their medical faculties this month because they failed to meet a legal obligation to operate a fully equipped hospital.
If no new regulation is passed before October 16, the Higher Education Council (YOK) will shut down the affected programs and transfer enrolled students to other universities.
The rule was designed to ensure that medical students receive practical clinical training rather than only classroom-based instruction.
What does the law say?
Türkiye’s Higher Education Law requires any university with a medical faculty to own or run a hospital with at least 200 beds.
Lawmakers introduced this obligation to guarantee patient contact and clinical experience. Universities were given five years starting in 2020 to comply, and authorities later added a two-year extension. That final grace period ends on October 16, 2025.
According to reports, 32 foundation universities currently run medical schools, but 17 still lack hospitals.
If Parliament does not introduce a last-minute legal amendment, YOK plans to close the non-compliant faculties and transfer students to universities that meet the hospital requirement.
Such a move could disrupt the education of hundreds of students, including those in their final years, and increase the pressure on Türkiye’s public and private medical schools, which would need to absorb them.
Medical experts warn that the policy is critical for patient safety as students in schools without hospitals often graduate without meaningful patient contact or surgical training.
Some reportedly rely on online videos to learn procedures, and health professionals fear this could lead to unsafe medical practices and weaken public confidence in healthcare, as reported by Turkish newspaper Sozcu.
One of the most high-profile universities at risk is Ankara Medipol, founded by former Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. While Istanbul Medipol University meets the requirement with eight hospitals, the Ankara branch has none.
The campus was built on the former site of a Turkish State Railways (TCDD) museum in Sihhiye, which once housed cultural artifacts including Sultan Abdulhamid II’s white piano. That museum complex was converted into the university campus during Koca’s time as minister.
Ankara Medipol attempted to build a 35-story hospital next to the historic site, but courts blocked the zoning changes needed for construction.
The university later started building a new hospital on Ataturk Forest Farm (AOC) land, but that project has also faced lawsuits. Without a finished and legally approved hospital, the institution could lose its medical faculty when the October deadline arrives.
Several foundation universities attempted to avoid the cost of building hospitals by partnering with public facilities through a system known as affiliation.
Under this model, hospitals lent their academic staff titles while universities accepted high-paying local and international students. Critics say these partnerships often existed only on paper and failed to provide genuine clinical training.
Regulators have pushed back. YOK President Prof. Erol Ozvar said inspections found universities where “students were treated as secondary to financial concerns” and stated that “institutions without hospitals cannot offer proper medical education.”
Health Minister Prof. Kemal Memisoglu has also criticized medical schools operating without patient care facilities, signaling that the rule will now be strictly enforced.
Health professionals warn that inadequate clinical training could have severe long-term consequences.
Critics said “millions of lives could be at risk” if students graduate without interacting with patients or practicing surgery. They fear a generation of poorly prepared doctors could lead to healthcare crises and erode public trust.
The debate also reflects the challenge of balancing rapid growth in higher education with quality control. Supporters of the strict requirement say enforcement is vital to maintain patient safety and protect the credibility of medical degrees.
Universities warn that sudden closures could disrupt students and strain already crowded programs.
What to expect before deadline in Türkiye
The government could still pass an emergency legal change to delay or adjust the hospital rule, but no such proposal has been announced.
If lawmakers do nothing, YOK is expected to enforce the law and revoke the licenses of the 17 non-compliant medical faculties. Students would then be reassigned to universities with established hospitals and proper clinical training.
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