Turgay Avci resigns as Yodak chairman

Turgay Avci, chairman of the north’s higher education accreditation authority (Yodak), resigned on Friday.

Avci visited Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar to hand in his resignation, as he did not want to “harm Yodak”.

Tatar had on Wednesday called on Avci to resign, with a scandal involving the alleged forgery of diplomas and the offering and taking of bribes engulfing the north’s higher education sector.

Allegations became criminal charges for a number of high-profile figures in the north, including Avci himself, who was arrested alongside former Yodak board member Mehmet Hasguler.

Both Avci and Hasguler stand accused of taking under-the-table payments while the now-infamous Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University (KSTU)’s medicine school was applying for Yodak accreditation. They were both released on bail on Tuesday,

Tatar on Wednesday should resign “to enable a new structure to form in Yodak”, but said he had “taken into account the presumption of innocence while the judicial process continues.”

Last week, he said he had given instructions to the north’s supreme court to fire Avci.

The court had on Monday announced the commencement of its evaluation of Tatar’s request, with senior judge Gokhan Asafogullari having been set to investigate Avci’s conduct.

However, with Avci’s resignation now having been handed in, the investigation will likely be stood down.

Yodak’s deputy chairman Hasan Amca had taken temporary charge of the authority while criminal proceedings are being taken against Avci. With Avci now out of the picture entirely, he seems a likely permanent replacement.