The Endless Controversy of Turkey's University Entrance Exam; Lawsuit Filed Against YKS 2026 Math Question

The Turkish national university entrance exam, known as YKS, which was held on June 20 and 21, 2026, has once again been accompanied by scientific and legal controversies. Following initial reviews, the Measuring, Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) announced on July 1 that it had completely canceled question 20 of the Literature and Social Sciences-1 section and changed the answer key for question 23 of the mathematics section in the Field Proficiency Test (AYT) from option 'C' to 'A' [3]. However, this action did not diminish the protests; instead, it triggered a new wave of judicial complaints.

Details of Candidate Complaints Regarding the Controversial Math Question On July 7, 2026, it was reported that a candidate named "Doruk Kerem Atam" from Sakarya officially filed a lawsuit against ÖSYM in the administrative court [1]. The core of this complaint is question 23 of the mathematics section (derivative topic). The plaintiff believes that simply changing the correct option in the answer key is insufficient and that the question should be completely canceled due to scientific and structural ambiguity. The petition states that changing the option after the exam was held destroys educational justice among candidates who had planned based on the previous options [2].

Potential Consequences of Question Cancellation on Final Rankings Education experts warn that if the court rules for the complete cancellation of math question 23, ÖSYM will be required to recalculate all scores and rankings for millions of candidates [4]. Given the intense competition in the Turkish university entrance exam, even a single point shift can change a candidate's rank by thousands of places. This issue has caused severe concern among families and students currently in the department selection phase. Educational unions have also criticized the occurrence of such scientific errors in a national exam, viewing it as a sign of decreased precision in question design [1].

Awaiting the Final Court Ruling According to Turkish legal regulations, after receiving a defense from ÖSYM, the court will refer the case to an academic expert panel (Bilirkişi). The final verdict is expected to be issued within a maximum of 15 days [4]. Meanwhile, ÖSYM has announced that it is fully prepared for any potential scenario, including the cancellation of the question and the revision of results, to prevent the violation of candidate rights [2]. However, until the verdict is issued, the final ranking status of many candidates will remain in a state of uncertainty.