The YÖK was founded in the immediate aftermath of the
12 September 1980 coup d'état, which established military rule. It reorganised education along strict military lines and throughout the 1980s, professors were encouraged to instill the values of family,
nationalism and 'Turkishness' in the students, who were urged to put patriotic duties and responsibilities into practice. In 1992, the YÖK established a scholarship program to be able assign qualified professors to the 24 newly established Universities outside of the cities
Ankara,
Izmir and
Istanbul. It selected students to study abroad who in exchange would teach at Turkish universities for the double amount of years their studies abroad were supported. The program was initiated by Mehmet Sağlam, the president of the YÖK at the time. == See also ==