CHP Harshly Criticizes ÖSYM Following 2026 YKS Controversy

Today, July 1, 2026, the educational and political landscape of Turkey is dominated by official statements from ÖSYM and sharp reactions from opposition parties. Following the national university entrance exam (YKS) held on June 20 and 21, widespread protests regarding question content eventually forced the exam body to retreat and revise the preliminary results [2].

Question Cancellations and Answer Key Changes: A Shock to Candidates ÖSYM announced in an official statement that after reviewing objections and scientific analyses, it decided to cancel one question in the Literature section and change the answer to one question in the Mathematics section. According to the report, question number 20 in the Literature and Social Sciences-1 booklet was canceled due to an error in the names of characters in the novel "Handan" by Halide Edib Adıvar [4]. Additionally, the answer to question number 23 in the Mathematics section of the AYT exam, previously announced as option "C," was changed to option "A" [1]. These changes mean a recalculation of scores for millions of candidates who are scheduled to receive their final results on July 16 [3].

Harsh Reaction from CHP: "This is a Scandal" Yıldırım Kaya, the Vice President responsible for educational policies of the Republican People's Party (CHP), heavily questioned the management of ÖSYM in response to these events. Describing the situation as a "scandal," he stated: "You cannot play with the future of millions of young people so easily. Can ÖSYM never conduct an exam without flaws? Every year we witness the same mistakes, the same incompetence, and the same victimization of students" [1]. Kaya emphasized that Turkey's youth are not "laboratory mice" for wrong educational policies and that officials must be held accountable for these irregularities.

Structural Crisis and Inequality in the Education System CHP's criticisms are not limited to technical errors. Suat Özçağdaş, another high-ranking official of the party, described the education system under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) management as "bankrupt," pointing to the poor average response rates in mathematics and science [1]. According to him, structural inequality has made quality education accessible only to those with financial means, while the majority of students in public schools face a sharp decline in academic standards. The decrease in the number of exam applicants compared to previous years has also been interpreted as a sign of youth despair regarding future careers and the value of university degrees [2].

Waiting for Final Results and the Fate of Candidates With the cancellation and modification of questions, candidates' scores will now be redistributed and calculated based on the remaining questions [4]. This has caused concern among families regarding potential rank shifts at sensitive admission thresholds. While ÖSYM emphasizes the "scientific nature" of the correction process, CHP calls for fundamental reforms in the structure of ÖSYM and the elimination of systems based on high-stress and unfair exams to restore public trust in the national assessment system.