Let our children not be eliminated!

Today, our children on the threshold of adulthood are taking an exam. 

We speak without questioning: "Will they pass?"

Pass what? Will they succeed in eliminating their peers? Pay attention, it is not about getting things right, learning, etc. We are asking if they will remain within the quota in a ranking based on the number of correct and incorrect answers. 

If they rank high, they are successful; if they are low, they are unsuccessful. Of course, that is the nature of the exam!

But why are we holding this exam (YKS)? It seems there are three purposes: 

1) Elimination (Because the quota does not cover all students taking the exam)

2) Ensuring they become suitable for university education

3) Measuring the success of high school education. 

Let's work backward. I don't think an exam is necessary to measure the success of high school education. Because in our country, there is a much more proficient exam for measuring the success of high school education: the PISA test. According to this test, we have failed as a nation. 

Preparing for the YKS and the YKS itself do not ensure readiness for university education either. Because I, having served as a research assistant at Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) and Boğaziçi University, have witnessed that even the students who get into these prestigious universities complete their high school education while sitting in university lecture halls. 

The exam is truly most useful for elimination. I am not sure who we are eliminating or in what respect, but it is certain that we are eliminating someone. We accept that the quota is limited, therefore some must be eliminated. Is that really the case? 

We remember during the pandemic: there was a system called EBA. Everyone with internet access could receive the "wonderfully qualified" education of the Ministry of National Education. In fact, MIT, a globally successful university in the USA, has been sharing its course recordings for years. Our country also has a quite successful open education experience. Therefore, distance education is possible. We could directly connect our students who aspire to study at a university with university courses. Essentially, there is no need for such an exam for this. If elimination is to be done, it could very well be done through these online courses. 

Moreover, with today's technologies, much more effective applications are possible both in terms of preparing for exams and measuring learning skills. Furthermore, there is no need to gather all students in schools, print tons of paper, and hire thousands of proctors for this. 

So, why are we still holding this exam? Probably just to keep up appearances. We are stalling a generation whose future is guaranteed to be bleak with dreams of "winning the future," making some people rich, and leaving families in misery. Meanwhile, we are turning young people at their most productive ages for learning and producing into guinea pigs of the education system while keeping them sedated. 

Are we really forced to do this? I don't think so at all. We do not refrain from wasting families, young people struggling with adolescence, young unemployed people whose future is almost certainly bleak, and national wealth. May God grant us wisdom!