‘What They Play With is Our Future’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Dilay, Esra and Gizem... Three young women living in three different cities in Turkey. Dilay and Gizem are in their final year at the high school. They are preparing for the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS), like 2.5 million others. Esra will take the exam for the second time this year.

In fact, the university entrance exam was first postponed to late July as part of COVID-19 measures. Then, it has been set to an earlier date.

The exam will be held after 54 days, in late June 2020. Speaking to bianet about the issue, Dilay, Esra and Gizem say that they have been studying really hard for the exam, but they are still anxious.

All three underline that having to take the exam at an earlier date is making them more and more anxious. They are calling on the authorities to postpone the exam and to not play with their future.

'I study really hard, but I am still anxious'

Dilay lives in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Antalya. She is 17. It is her last year at an anatolian high school. She tells bianet:

"I am a student at the foreign language department. It is a bit different for us: While some subjects have been taken out of the scope of the exam for math and equal weight departments, it is not the case for us.

"I used to go to the exam preparation course every day before the pandemic broke out, I had the opportunity to study with my teachers. We now do it online, but it is not the same thing.

'I am afraid of catching the virus if I go out'

"I am worried about a lot of things. I am studying, I am studying even harder, but I am still worried. Because there are things that I cannot control. We are in quarantine now, I don't go out, but I am in two minds: I think of what kind of an effect it will have if I stay home all the time and go out only for the exam. On the other side, I am afraid of catching the virus if I go out.

"They have changed the grading system, too. They have lowered it. It is another problem. Exam scores are already high in foreign language department. With the grades lowered, many more students can get high scores without studying at all and it might cause the percentile of universities to increase and we might not get to a university. Those who have no right to do this can get somewhere with the slightest differences.

"Taking the exam in a mask makes me afraid, too. I have low blood pressure. Breathing is already faster than usual during an exam. I don't know how easy it will be to breathe with a mask on.

'We make day-to-day, hour-to-hour schedules'

"We make day-to-day, hour-to hour schedules for our studies. It was clearly said that the exam would be held in late July. Then, all of a sudden, our 30 days have been taken away from us. I prepared quite a serious schedule, I was going to do only pilot tests in the last month.

"I cannot decribe you my mental breakdown when I first heard that the exam would be held at an earlier date. They cannot see it that simple. What they play with is our future. It is not a market, you cannot just open and close it as you wish. It is about the health and future of millions of students... I want the exam to be postponed to July again."

'I did a pilot test with a mask, it is uncomfortable'

Gizem is also in her final year at high school. She lives in the capital city of Ankara. She says that the exam should be postponed to a later date when they do not have to wear masks while taking the exam:

"When our schools were temporarily closed due to coronavirus, we were first relieved. Then, it was said that the exam would be held in July. I had the impression that it would be over by then.

"However, a new announcement is made everyday. There is no certainty in any of the statements. Frankly speaking, it causes fear.

"I am more advantaged than several of my friends, because I have covered all of the subjects and I am now only doing pilot tests. But, I am still very concerned. My biggest concern is the obligation to take the exam with a mask on in that summer heat.

"I did a few pilot tests while wearing a mask and it is really uncomfortable. You always feel the need to straighten it, you cannot breathe properly and have problems with concentrating. I want to take the exam at a date when I don't have to wear a mask."

'I don't want to take the exam in a mask'

Esra is 18 years old. She will take the exam for the second time this year. She says that she starts studying at 9.30 in the morning and keeps studying till 1 at night, giving breaks only to eat something during the day:

"As soon as I wake up, I start doing the online courses of the exam preparation course. It takes four-five hours. It ends around 2 p.m. I have my breakfast, then I start studying again at around 3-4 p.m. I study till 7.30 p.m. without any break. After having dinner, I start again at 8.30 p.m. and continue studying till 1 at night. My every day is like that.

'I cannot sleep well for two months'

"I cannot sleep well for the last two months. They first postponed the exam. That made me happy because I would have more time like that. I thought that coronavirsu would be over by then. But, later on, they have set it to an earlier date. I don't know what to think.

"I am a student with glasses, it makes me really concerned that I will have to take the exam while wearing a mask. I don't know how to do it, it really makes me sleepless. I want the exam to be postponed for both our health and success. While I have studied so much, what if I fail because of the mask? They should postpone it so that we won't have to wear a mask." (RT/SD)