The Barrier-Free University Flags and  Decorations Program Award Ceremony was held at the Presidency of Higher Education Council.

In his speech, Özvar said that the studies carried out within the scope of “barrier-free access” and “barrier-free education” to eliminate the obstacles experienced in higher education are among the issues to which CoHE (Council of Higher Education) attaches importance.

CoHE President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar stated that they received 1709 applications from 112 universities this year for the “Barrier-Free University Awards” and that 76 universities were entitled to receive a total of 319 flags.

Stating that the number of students in the higher education system has exceeded 7 million, and according to YÖKSİS data, the number of students with different disability levels is around 58 thousand, Özvar noted that this number constitutes approximately 8 per thousand of the students in the higher education system.

In this context, Özvar stated that in 2022, they issued a “Regulation on the Health Conditions to be Required in Examination Practices for Disabled Individuals and Disabled Quotas” for disabled individuals and that the regulation, which they postponed its implementation due to the earthquake, will enter into force next year.

Özvar stated that as YÖK, they care about all students' access to higher education and continue to develop incentive studies and projects to provide disabled students with a barrier-free education and training environment and to ensure their participation in social and cultural activities.

Özvar stated that the Barrier-Free University Flags, the first of the awards, are divided into three categories: Accessibility in Space (Orange Flag), Accessibility in Education (Green Flag) and Accessibility in Socio-Cultural Activities (Blue Flag), and that the relevant programs of universities that provide accessibility to different disability groups are awarded the Barrier-Free Decoration Program. 

Giving information about the universities receiving the most flags, Özvar said, “In the category of “Barrier-free University Flags”, Kastamonu University came in first with 38 flags, Necmettin Erbakan University was the second with 20 flags and Inonu University was the third with 17 flags, while Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University was awarded 15 flag and Aksaray University and Ege University were awarded 14 flags. I congratulate them.”

Özvar stated that, in the barrier-free program decorations category,  Marmara University came in first with 11 decorations, Dokuz Eylül University and Anadolu University were the second with 8 decorations and the Sakarya University was third with 5 decorations.

Following the speeches, Özvar presented the awards to the university rectors who attended the ceremony.