Millions of students across Türkiye are gearing up for the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS) set to take place on June 17-18, which this year is adjusted with an increased quota for the students impacted by early February earthquakes in the country's southeast.
Approximately 3.5 million students in 81 provinces and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have applied to take the exam, which will be held in three sessions over the weekend in two phases.
In contrast, the number of high school seniors who took the exam last year was 3.24 million.
The first session of the YKS, the Basic Proficiency Test (TYT), which will last for 165 minutes, will take place on Saturday. The second session, comprising the Field Proficiency Tests (AYT), will be held on Sunday morning, while students will sit for the Foreign Language Test (YDT) Sunday afternoon.
According to the reports, nearly 1 million people will be appointed for supervision during the exam.
Following the disastrous earthquakes that affected the lives of millions in the southeastern region, the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) has presented a particular application for the students in the provinces affected by the disaster, according to which they have offered an additional quota for the posts in local universities, increasing it by 25%.
Through this measure, the provinces given special emergency status (OHAL) following the Feb. 6 earthquakes as well as Sivas' Gürün district will provide students residing in these provinces with an additional quota for university placement.
Universities, where this rule will be applied, are listed as Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology, Adıyaman, Çukurova, Dicle, Fırat, Gaziantep, Gaziantep Islam Sciences and Technology, Harran, Hatay Mustafa Kemal, Inönü, Iskenderun Technic, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü Imam, Kahramanmaraş Istiklal, Kilis 7 Aralık, Malatya Turgut Özal and Osmaniye Korkut Ata universities.
In addition, excluding the obligation to provide 15% of the students with scholarships stipulated in Law No. 2547 to each program in foundation universities and excluding double-degree programs, one extra quota will be allocated for the earthquake-impacted YKS candidates.
The YKS has allocated a separate quota for women aged 34 and older as part of new regulation dating Jan. 1, 2023. Women who have not graduated from any undergraduate program earlier can benefit from this right. Those who have previously graduated from an associate degree program can only choose the quotas reserved for undergraduate programs.