The lower coefficient is a product of the 1997 intervention and was introduced in an attempt to keep students from imam-hatip schools, classified as vocational schools, out of the secular higher education system. It has been one of the issues that has been heatedly debated in Turkey, as it was an obvious violation of the principle of equal opportunity in education in that the practice gives vocational school graduates a great disadvantage in how well they can do on the test.
“A discriminatory practice initiated with the Feb. 28 mentality, to prevent students going to imam-hatip schools from attending to universities, has ended with this late but historic decision,” Education Personnel Labor Union (Eğitim Bir-Sen) head Halil Etyemez told Today's Zaman. Noting that they have been struggling to abolish this practice for the past 10 years, he said some circles are still opposed to ending the variant coefficient system. “However, anyone approaching the issue from a scientific and pro-equality perspective can see that this practice created an obvious inequality. This decision will put an end to a years-long unjust system,” Etyemez added.
Under the current system, graduates of vocational high schools, including imam-hatip divinity schools, had points deducted from their admissions scores when they applied to a university department unrelated to their curriculum. This system made it more difficult for an imam-hatip high school graduate to gain entrance to medical school than a student from a normal high school with the same ÖSS score. With the new system, there will be no point deduction associated with students' high school curriculum.
YÖK announced that the new system will go into effect from 2010 onwards. Aksiyon weekly education editor Tuncer Çetinkaya, who also authored a book on the Feb. 28 period titled “The longest February,” told Today's Zaman that he sees the YÖK decision as clearing one of the last remnants of the post-modern coup period. “This is a turn back, yet turning back to what was correct. Turkey has lost a lot in the last 10 years in education. This decision fully complies with the principle of equality,” he added.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose government was long expected to bring a solution to coefficient discrimination, expressed his approval of the YÖK decision. Speaking to reporters at Ankara Esenboğa Airport before his trip to Syria, Erdoğan opined that an unjust system and a practice contradicting educational freedom has been eliminated with this decision. “Nobody should try to interpret this decision in other ways [as one favoring imam-hatip schools]. This was a problem for all vocational school graduates. I see this decision as a step in the right direction,” Erdoğan said.
Vocational schools to become more popular
Despite wide support from the public, some were not slow to express their criticism of the YÖK decision on the grounds that it would prevent students from specializing in a field, arguing that students will now indicate a preference for departments other than theirs on the ÖSS exam. Zübeyde Kılıç, head of the Education Personnel Union (Eğitim-Sen), said that all efforts of the YÖK to direct students to specific fields before university admissions will be proven futile with this decision. Kılıç also noted that the decision was a political one enacted to enable imam-hatip school graduates to be accepted to all departments, and said that it will stand as an obstacle to Turkey's vocational education. However, experts believe vocational schools' popularity will increase since more students will attend vocational schools now that the ÖSS scoring obstacle has been lifted. “Vocational high schools have lost their purpose and almost disappeared over the past 10 years, as the number of students attending these schools has decreased. Now they will be able to accept more qualified students,” said Çetinkaya.
Besides education officials and vocational high school graduates who have been unable to study the field they prefer due to the lower coefficient system, business circles also welcomed the YÖK decision, which they think will encourage more students to enter vocational high schools, which will meet the needs of the market. Issuing a written statement on the issue yesterday, İstanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) Chairman Murat Yalçıntaş said that once this decision is implemented, industrialists' qualified intermediate staff needs will be met. Noting that due to lower coefficient system implemented for 10 years, the number of students enrolling to vocational high schools dropped to a considerable extent, Yalçıntaş said with this decision, vocational high schools will be attractive options for students once again. “With the equal coefficient system brought by the YÖK, vocational school graduates who are unable to win acceptance to a university after the ÖSS will not remain jobless. They will be able to find a job more easily in their field of specialization, meeting industrialists' need for qualified intermediate staff. This will pave the way to meet a basic need of industrialists and will decrease youth unemployment,” said Yalçıntaş.
Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MÜSİAD) chairman Ömer Cihad Vardan also congratulated the YÖK on its decision to apply an equal coefficient for all students on the ÖSS. Noting that abolishing coefficient discrimination corrects an error made years ago, he said although the lower coefficient has been in effect for 12 years, it has cost fifty years of damage for Turkey. “We hope more students will choose vocational schools. Since universities' quotas are limited, not all of them will be accepted to a university. But, they will have a profession and will contribute to the country's economy,” he added.
Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) Chairman Rızanur Meral also noted that the lower coefficient practice took Turkey almost 20 years backwards, and affirmed that the change in the coefficient system will help industrialists meet their technical staff needs.
Zorlu Holding Chairman Ahmet Nazif Zorlu and Sanko Holding head Abdulkadir Konukoğlu were also among business representatives who expressed their approval of the decision, stating that it would contribute positively to the Turkish economy.
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