For most, it’s virtually impossible to perform well on university entrance exams without enrolling in a private college preparatory course, a dershane, along with the normal high school curricula. For long hours after school and on weekends, high school students attend extra classes, reading through test prep books and solving practice exam questions in a bid to secure their spots at a good university -- and their futures. But in the face of the Council of State decision, many vocational high school students and even their parents are wondering if there’s even a point anymore in trying, seeing as how the system is set up against them.
Vocational high school enrollment had soared after the Higher Education Board’s (YÖK) General Council announced in July that it was lifting the coefficient system, but the Council of State blocked the ruling and private college preparatory courses say that students at these high schools are dropping out of college prep courses at alarming rates. Students who had joyfully enrolled in college prep courses are now reconsidering their decisions.
The situation is also concerning for the thousands of teachers employed at college preparatory institutes, many of which are planning meetings to figure out how to address the situation. Muammer Sarıipek, the manager of Meslek Dershane, Turkey’s only dershane that caters exclusively to students of vocational high schools, says that non-attendance has soared to 30 percent with the Council of State decision. “Our school consists solely of vocational high school attendees. Parents are confused over the matter -- they sent their children here out of hope, but now they’re rethinking their moves,” he said.
Similarly, Mustafa Altınsoy, the head of the İstanbul Provincial Education Directorate’s Private Dershane Division, said that there was unanimity amongst the educational community that the Council of State’s decision was a negative one. “We know that the dershanes and the private educators at these schools are victims in this situation as well. Families and students are full of anxiety. There will be a serious drop in enrollment due to this,” he said.
Ömer Öcal, a guidance counselor at the Sınav Dergisi Dershane, explained that following the original YÖK decision their school had opened special courses for students of vocational high schools and that following the Council of State’s move, enrollment had already dropped by 20 percent. “Parents are telling us, ‘If our children once again lose the right to attend university, we’ll have no choice but to pull them out of these classes.’ This is also a serious blow to student motivation, and it’s upsetting to see the children who are staying in class working away even though they have no hope,” he said.
