Yusuf Tekin issues statement on LGS exam cancellation

In the High School Transition System (LGS) exam, where approximately 1 million students sweated it out on Sunday, June 15, the fact that 719 students answered all questions correctly and received full marks, despite the high difficulty level of the exam, brought discussions with it.

The revelation that the questions were shared in a WhatsApp group before the exam ended strengthened the allegations of impropriety, while Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin announced that an administrative investigation had been launched against 29 people and that MEB General Manager of Information Processing Özgür Türk had been dismissed.

Despite the investigation and dismissal, Yusuf Tekin, who denied the allegations of impropriety, responded to the opposition's parliamentary questions.

Arguing that the allegations in question were baseless and that the efforts of both students and teachers were being disregarded with false information, Tekin reiterated that there was no question of canceling the exam, which he claimed had been conducted successfully.

"SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS YEARS IN TERMS OF DIFFICULTY"

Defending that the statements claiming the exam was the most difficult of recent years were also incorrect, Tekin said, "When the last 4 years are evaluated, it is seen that the Central Exam shows similarities with previous years in terms of difficulty. According to the analyses, the reliability is at a high level. In this context, the Central Exam in question was conducted in a transparent and auditable manner, in accordance with measurement and evaluation principles."

Responding to allegations regarding a supervisor teacher at a school taking a photo of a question booklet belonging to a student who did not attend the exam and sharing it in a messaging group involving four people, Minister Tekin stated that the images shared were not the ministry's original texts and said that it is strictly forbidden to bring image-recording devices into exam buildings.

"NOT 300, BUT 10 STUDENTS"

Criticizing the posts made on social media, Tekin used the following expressions:

“Some names also associated this situation with the ‘Terror-Free Turkey’ initiative and claimed that 300 students in Diyarbakır received full marks. The number of students who answered all questions correctly in Diyarbakır is 10, and these students attend different schools. Similarly, it was claimed that 36 students from an Imam Hatip secondary school in Bursa received full marks. In Bursa, a total of 20 students from 17 different schools answered all questions correctly, and there are no students who answered all questions correctly at the mentioned Imam Hatip secondary school. 9 percent of the 719 students who answered all questions correctly are Imam Hatip secondary school students.”

According to the news in the pro-government Türkiye Gazetesi, Minister Tekin said that all exam questions were prepared by commissions consisting of subject matter expert teachers who gathered in the “Red Zone.”

Minister Tekin explained the following regarding the process before, during, and after the exam:

- Question writing and development work is carried out in a secure area called the red zone, which is completely isolated from internet connection and external communication. The red zone is open only to the controlled access of authorized personnel.

- Entries and exits to the red zones are made not only with card systems but also with biometric methods such as fingerprint scanning. Questions are selected in a closed-circuit system for 35 days and printed in the same place.

- Exam documents are delivered to provinces and districts accompanied by GPS-tracked vehicles and security officers. The answer sheets collected at the end of the exam are placed in a return envelope and sealed.

- These envelopes are placed in security boxes and locked with special serial-numbered locks. The answer sheets coming out of the sealed envelopes are evaluated in a closed circuit with a dual optical reader under camera recording.

News Source: 12punto