Twenty-six detainees were released while 12 of the 38 taken into custody were referred to court over the falsification of official documents, establishing a criminal organization and membership in a criminal organization.
Police sources said the detentions came after allegations that there had been widespread cheating on a recently administered State Personnel Examination (KPSS), taken by hundreds of thousands of people, as well as many other centralized tests. They were transferred for interrogation by prosecutors involved in the investigation.
Ünal Yarımağan, president of the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM), the official body that prepare examinations nationwide, said the educational sciences test of the KPSS may be cancelled if the allegations that the test questions had been leaked ahead of the examination are found to be true. Meanwhile, Higher Education Board (YÖK) President Yusuf Ziya Özcan said they have begun work on restructuring the ÖSYM. Özcan said they are waiting for the investigation into the cheating scandal to be completed before they can decide on what steps need to be taken in order to prevent such incidents from reoccurring in the future.
