‘Our children did not deserve this’

* Photos: Ruken Tuncel - bianet

Click to read the article in Turkish

"Our children did not deserve this, my daughter did not even want to take the exam," said one parent. Another one added, "We cannot help feeling stressed until the exam results are announced and we learn that my daughter is placed in the school that she wants to go."

Amid all debates on whether to postpone it or not, the High-School Entrance Exam (LGS) was held with the participation of almost 2 million students across Turkey on June 20 amid further normalization steps and a recent surge in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country.

As for the above words, they were uttered by parents waiting for their children in front of Beylikdüzü Cevat Güleç Secondary School in İstanbul. While some of them were silently saying prayers, another one had a prayer book in her hands, seeming like begging rather than just praying.

No matter what they were doing at that moment, they had one thing in common. They were all trembling and looking concerned as if they had been as young as their children. While their children were sweating over the exam inside, they were sweating for a better future for them outside.

One of those parents was Sibel Güler. She had a prayer book in her hands, saying prayers for her son who was taking the exam inside when I approached her to talk. She said that her son prepared really well for the exam, taking an online course and studying from many sources.

"We did out best, he prepared really well," she said and added, "I trust my son a lot, he will overcome stress and succeed. And I am praying for him. My all anxiety and stress will go away on the day when my son is placed in the school that he wants to go."

Zeynep Kaplan was another parent sitting right next to Sibel Güler. She looked on the verge of tears. She was praying for her daughter, whom she said to have raised on her own: "She was really stressed when she entered the exam, I am afraid that she will get nervous."

It was mostly the mothers waiting outside the schools. Unlike other pictures came from the schools on that day, they were sitting in twos or threes in the shade of trees, keeping their social distance.

'We were as wretched as children'

Aynur Demirel was sitting under a tree, praying for her daughter. "My daughter is really good at her classes, she is a really good, a really successful student," she said and continued as follows:

"She prepared for the exam on her own. I believe in my daughter, but she was afraid due to the outbreak, she did not want to take the exam.

"It is not only about the exam, I am also concerned about its aftermath. In which school will she be placed? In the school that she wants? If the outbreak continues, how will we send her somewhere far from here? Both children and we as parents were wretched during the outbreak."

While we were talking, a short break was given in the exam. Students came closer to the gates of school garden, but they were told that they could not leave. Some were calm, some looked nervous, looking for their parents in tears. Some of them said that they could not answer all questions on time, others complained that English questions were hard. Some did not talk too much, just said that they were okay and went back to the school building.

'Two students cried, I got distracted'

Şüheda was one of those students looking for her father in tears. She told him that the exam was very easy, but she could not do it. Two students cried during the exam and her concentration was no more, said Şüheda:

"Dad, questions were super easy, but I got distracted because there were others crying. I could not do it. What am I going to do now?" Father Salih Çeçen was trying to calm her down: "What matters is your health, sweetheart. Don't be sad, the exam continues. There is still the second part."

'Children were not ready for this'

Father Çeçen sent her daughter to wash her face. Then, he started speaking: "My daughter is always the top or second top student in her class. She was constantly at home due to the pandemic. The kid prepared for the exam on her own, she was stressed.

"I felt terrible as a parent when my daughter told me that she could not do it. The exam should not have been held amid all these pandemic conditions. My daughter wanted to enter a Science High-School. I do not know what we will do if all those years of efforts come to nothing."

'There were questions on not-covered subjected'

Hande Özkan was yet another parent who brought her daughter to the exam. She was waiting for her outside with her own mother. Sitting under the tree, she said that she could not even ask her daughter how the exam was:

"I could not ask her because whatever happens in this exam is beyond her power or control. It is already a huge burden on them to take the exam under these circumstances. She did not benefit from the [distance education system] EBA. She watched it only once. She picked the subjects herself, she studied day and night. She said that they were asked questions about several subjects that they did not cover in the first term.

"I hope that our children will not fall apart even more after the exam, I hope that they will not be depressed. Our children did not deserve this. They did not have to hold the exam. They could have placed the children based on their grades at school. We do not even know based on what they prepared the questions. Moreover, they increased the minimum scores to qualify for schools. We cannot help feeling stressed until the results are announced." (RT/SD)