Head of Turkey’s top exam body resigns after calculation mistake in university entrance exam

ANKARA

Professor Ömer Demir, head of the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM), announced his resignation on Aug. 21 after the body had been shaken by a calculation mistake in the placement scores of candidates entering Turkey’s national university entrance exam.

The ÖSYM had announced the student selection and placement results on Aug. 12, stating it had taken into account a “different placement score than the intended one.”

“Due to the placement mistake that emerged after the unintentional recklessness of the personnel, I have presented my resignation to the concerned authority in order to prevent the ÖSYM from being debated as an institution. If protecting the institution requires our leave, we should leave, and if it requires our stay, we will stay. I have specifically presented my resignation in order to stress that,” Demir said at a press conference in the capital Ankara.

He admitted that there was an administrative mistake in the placement process while stating that those affected by the error could not argue for the deprivation of their rights.

“We have made an error and we, as the institution, should not have done such a thing. I do not perceive there is an issue of trust regarding the systematic work of the ÖSYM,” Demir said.

According to the ÖSYM’s new calculation, 1,628 applicants who were announced to not have gained the right to enroll at any university on Aug. 8, have now received a spot at a university. Some 1,499 applicants, who were previously announced to have earned a spot at a university, have lost their right to enroll. 

Last month, the ÖSYM had also apologized for another error that was made in the calculation of the scores of the second round of the university exam, called “LYS.”

The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) had stated at the time that a total of 18,331 candidates taking the exam were affected by the ÖSYM’s mistake.