Aksakal's Sharp Criticism of ÖSYM Errors: Is the Fate of Youth a Toy?

Trust Crisis in the Turkish Education System As the final evaluations of the 2026 national exam results are underway, statements by Önder Aksakal, leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP), have sparked a new wave of debate in Turkey's political and educational spheres. By posing the key question, "Can ÖSYM ask wrong questions?", he directly targeted the scientific and administrative credibility of the Turkish assessment center [1]. These criticisms come at a time when thousands of candidates have protested against ambiguities in certain specialized subject questions.

Details of Aksakal's Criticisms of the Assessment Center Aksakal believes that any error in the design of national exams like YKS is not just a simple technical mistake, but an irreparable blow to the future and motivation of millions of young people who have worked for years for this moment. In his recent speech, he emphasized that the assessment center (ÖSYM) must accept responsibility for potential errors and clarify its monitoring mechanisms to the public instead of offering justifications and remaining silent [1]. He also noted that even a single wrong question could unfairly shift the rankings of thousands of people.

Reaction of Candidates and Education Experts Many candidates on social media, supporting Aksakal's stance, claim that some questions in the June 2026 exams contained contradictory options. Education experts also believe that the recurrence of these claims this year indicates an urgent need for structural reforms in the selection process of question designers [2]. Although ÖSYM consistently emphasizes its high standards, recent political and social pressures may lead to a re-evaluation of the answer keys.

Necessity of Accountability and Structural Reforms This is not the first time ÖSYM's performance has been criticized, but the involvement of high-level political figures has added new dimensions to the matter. Aksakal has called for the formation of an independent committee to review the disputed questions [1]. According to existing protocols, if an error is confirmed, the questions in question must be invalidated and their marks distributed among the other questions, but this process has always been accompanied by legal challenges [3].