76-year-old granny sits in university exams

ÇORUM

Many things have been discussed about the university qualification exams held across Türkiye last weekend but none had expected anything like a 76-year-old woman sitting for the exams in the Black Sea province of Çorum to fulfill her dreams of studying at a law university.

“I want to enter a faculty of law and study,” Esme Dalgıç told Demirören News Agency on July 19, the second day of the exams.

Türkiye has held two-phase university exams over the weekend, with over 3 million students attending the first exam on June 18 and some 2 million attending the second on June 19.

The first exam lasted 165 minutes, while the second lasted 15 minutes longer, making it 3 hours.

Apart from the difficulty level of the questions, Dalgıç came forefront in the exams with her smiling face while waving to journalists.

According to local media, many thought she was the grandmother of an applicant, not a “university student to be.”

“I have four children and 10 grandchildren. I always wanted to go to a school, but my elders did not permit it. So I always had a chip on my shoulder,” she said.

In time she got a grip on this desire to study, homeschooled herself and graduated from the primary, secondary and high schools by passing school exams.

“Now it was time for university, so I entered the qualification exams,” she said.

The smiling elder woman also has a piece of advice for the youth: “Study, go to schools. You have enough time, but I don’t. Even so, I am opting to study.”

The Center for Assessment, Selection and Placement (ÖSYM), the national body responsible for organizing the university entrance exams, informed that the results will be announced on July 20.

The year 2022 was a record-breaking year as some 650,000 more students applied to enter the exams this year.

There are 209 universities in Türkiye, out of which 131 are state universities.

Istanbul sits at the top of the list of “provinces with most universities” with 66 education complexes.