Students’ national exam marathon wearying for students and parents

This is the first year of Turkey’s new university entrance system. Under the new system, more than 1,500 students, including high school pupils and graduates, took the Transition to Higher Education Examination (YGS) on April 11, the first-round exam of the new university entrance system in place in Turkey and in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). Those who pass the YGS are then entitled to take the Undergraduate Placement Examination (LYS), the second-round exam in the new system taking place on June 19-20 and June 26-27, to gain admission to an undergraduate department. Students who only take the YGS, in which students have to answer 160 questions in 160 minutes, are able to apply for associate degree programs. There are five LYS sessions while the previous university entrance system, the Student Selection Examination (ÖSS), was held once in a year throughout the country.

“Our children went to dershanes, which offer weekend and evening courses geared toward preparing students for national exams, as well as going to school five days a week. We have obviously encouraged our children to do well in their national exams over the years, be they the SBS, YGS or LYS, but they are under a lot of pressure and worry about whether they will pass,” Toprak stated.

National exams cause traffic chaos in metropolitan centers

This constant round of exams affects students adversely in terms of psychology, Toprak said, and he regrets that many students miss out on social and cultural activities such as going to the cinema or the theater as a result of rushing from their schools to dershanes to prepare for their national exams. Toprak added that individuals who have unpleasant childhood memories may not have good communication skills later on in life.

Students were asked mathematics and geometry questions in the LYS-1, the first session of the LYS, held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, while students hoping to major in a foreign language were asked foreign language questions in the LYS-5 held at 2:30 p.m. on the same day. The LYS-4, in which students are expected to answer social sciences questions, is today at 10 a.m. The LYS-3, including literature and geography questions, will be held on June 26 while the LYS-2, containing science questions, will be held on June 27.

Families like the Toprak family, whose children have been spending most of their time studying and in exam preparation at schools and dershanes for several years, believe that countrywide exams are wearying not only for their children but also themselves.

Parents have a tense wait after their children enter the exam room for their national exams. During the exam period traffic becomes chaotic, especially in İstanbul, Turkey’s most crowded city, and in Turkey’s other major cities. Since so many parents take their children to the exam centers by car, traffic on all the roads and crossroads heading to these locations comes to a standstill. Many people park their vehicles outside the centers or as close to them as possible, causing huge problems for others trying to reach the exam halls.

The nationwide university entrance exam has been in place since 1974. Although the exam has been renamed several times, its purpose has remained the same: to reduce the number of university applicants. Because universities have limited capacity and cannot meet the needs of the growing population, the YGS and LYS are not exams designed to assess achievement, they are designed to eliminate a certain number of students.

Faruk Ardıç is a student advisor at the FEM Dershaneleri and he noted that the new university entrance exam is similar to the decade-old one. Speaking to Sunday’s Zaman, Ardıç said this year’s university entrance exam is good because it offers students more of a chance. The previous version, the ÖSS, was held once a year throughout the country whereas the new university entrance system consists of two rounds. If students pass but don’t do so well in the first round they still have the chance to go on to the second stage and improve their score.