The new developments in education, which has become the most fundamental problem of the country, reveal that the system is getting worse day by day.
While the growing problems in secondary and high school education during the pandemic period brought the issue of quality to the agenda, the last decision of the Higher Education Council opened the issue of quality to discussion in universities.
The Higher Education Institutions Exam, whose short name is YKS, was announced by Saraç, the President of the Higher Education Institution (YÖK), in the autumn of 2017.
The exam, which was announced by YÖK under the name of YKS, in order to eliminate the multiple score calculation and complexity of the previous Higher Education Entrance Examination (YGS) and Undergraduate Placement Exam (LYS) exams, underwent changes immediately after its announcement.
THE FIRST CHANGE MADE IN THE FIRST WEEK
The new exam is administered as the Basic Proficiency Exam (TYT) and the Field Proficiency Exam (AYT). It was only a few days after the announcement of the name and system of the exam, and there was great criticism at that time. The first change was also made in the first week. The YKS exam, which will fit in a single day, has been increased to two days in a few days with the new decision. With the first change, the exam started to be organized as two days on weekends.
CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF EXAM TESTS
After the first change of the exam, which was initially well organized and announced without planning, another change came within the same days. At that time, the lack of exam tests, which was announced by our newspaper with the headline news, was brought to the public agenda. This time, YÖK forgot to add the history questions to the exam. History questions were added to the Turkish Language and Literature-Geography 1 test and the name of the test was changed to Turkish Language and Literature and Social Sciences-1 test.
FINALLY, PASSING SCORES HAVE BEEN REMOVED
Four years after the YKS exam, which started to be implemented for the first time in June 2018, YÖK made a new regulation regarding the exam. The arrangement he made this time almost brought to light the deep-rooted problem regarding the quality of education in universities. In the last four years, YÖK, which has placed a passing score (medical faculties, law, engineering) in some department preferences in order not to bring the quality problem in education to the agenda, has removed the 150 passing score, which is the associate degree preference, and the 180 passing score, which is the lowest score in the undergraduate preference. Thus, students will be able to choose the department they want without being subject to any restrictions.
EMPTY QUOTAS WERE EFFECTIVE ON THE DECISION
It is stated that this latest decision taken by YÖK was especially effective because the faculties and departments established in Anatolian cities were left empty. YÖK, which is the subject of the news of "it has academicians but no students" every year, will thus send students to these departments. The new Chairman of YÖK, Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, shared the figures in his presentation in the parliament regarding the quota vacancy, and announced that the total vacant quota remaining after the additional placements was 14 percent.
PRESSURE OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES BRINGS RESULTS
This vacant quota problem in state universities continued in private universities as well. Although private universities made great efforts not to leave empty rows due to economic concerns, they could not attract qualified students and had a quota gap. It is claimed that the results of the efforts of private universities in this regard were effective in the final decision of YÖK.
WHAT DOES THIS DECISION MEAN?
The final decision brought the quality problem in the education system to the agenda. With very low nets, students are now able to settle in departments at universities. With the final decision of the Council of Higher Education, the 150 required for pre-license and the 180 required for license will no longer be applied.
Although the number of students whose scores were not calculated according to the data of 4 years decreased despite the first year, it peaked last year. In TYT, which was the exam on the first day of 2,500,000 students, 789,000 students could not pass the exam.
Thus, even the scores of those who could not pass the threshold were not calculated. The same was the case with the 180 passing score, which is also required for license preference. Since AYT scores of more than 1,200,000 students were not calculated, they could not participate in the choice. With the removal of the dams, the scores of hundreds of thousands of students whose scores are not calculated will also be calculated and they will be able to make a choice.
A STUDENT CAN BE PLACED ONLY WITH ONE CORRECT ANSWER
If the students who will take the YKS exam this year leave only one net out of 240 questions, their exam scores will be calculated and in this way, students will be able to choose associate and undergraduate degrees. Students will also be able to choose if 0.5 raw points are reached for point calculations.
YÖK abolished the same threshold application in departments that admit students with special talent exams. Now, students with very low scores will be placed in the relevant departments of universities with special talents.