Turkish government advisors who serve abroad do not have to know a foreign language according new employment criteria set by the Interior Ministry, the Sözcü daily reported on Monday.
According a change made in the relevant regulations, advisors who serve abroad will not be required to speak the language of the country in which they will serve or English, French or German. They will not have to score at least 70 points in the Foreign Language Test (YDS) administered by the state.
The ministry’s move came following a recent decision to send 100 advisors abroad. These advisors, who will be sent to 71 countries, will receive a monthly salary of $5,000-$7,000.
The advisors will be selected from among employees of the ministry, first degree police chiefs and gendarmerie or coast guard security staff who have the rank of major or above.
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been governing Turkey as a single party government since 2002, has long been criticized for recruiting its proxies to state jobs by easing the recruitment criteria.
Recently, the appointment of AKP parliamentary candidate Hacı Mehmet Gani to the Turkish Embassy in Bern as the press attaché has sparked extensive criticism because Gani, at a monthly salary of $12,000, has employed a translator at a monthly salary of $6,000 because he cannot speak a foreign language.