Nicosia, Cyprus. Former Turkish Cypriot ‘education minister’ Kemal Durust appeared in court on Monday as he prepares to stand trial for his alleged role in the “fake diploma scandal”. He faces charges linked to alleged document forgery and money laundering, with the trial set to begin on May 5.
Charges and allegations
At a previous hearing, police representative Gultekin Sancar said Durust had “incited” the creation of forged documents at Morphou’s Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University (KSTU) to grant a master’s degree in business management to Baris Sel. Sancar said Sel later became Famagusta police chief and was then arrested for his part in the scandal.
Sancar added that Durust had given instructions to prepare a degree certificate based on a transcript belonging to another person, which was also fake. Durust said he was unaware of the document’s content.
Statement from KSTU secretary-general
Serdal Gunduz, KSTU’s secretary-general and a 30-per-cent shareholder, submitted a handwritten statement from prison to police regarding Durust’s involvement.
Gunduz claimed Durust and Sel met regularly and that when Sel said he “urgently needed a degree”, Durust said, “let’s get him graduated and give him a degree – he is the police chief after all”. Gunduz said he told Sel and Durust that degrees cannot be issued without students attending classes, but that Durust insisted Sel “be assisted”.
Gunduz has since been sentenced to 15 years in jail for his part in the “fake diploma scandal”.
Political criticism over university expansion
Opposition political party CTP representative Sami Ozuslu previously blamed Durust for the rapid and largely uncontrolled expansion in the number of universities in the north. Ozuslu said he requested information from the ‘education ministry’, which told him that 36 universities are currently operating in the north.
What impact could the case have on oversight of universities in the north?
