Turkish Medical Association: Outbreak Still Continues, Postpone Entrance Exams

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The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has released a statement about the High School Entrance Exam (LGS) and Higher Education Entrance Exam (YKS) and called on the authorities to postpone them until the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is completely taken under control.

Shortly after the first COVID-19 case was officially confirmed by Turkey on March 11, the exams were postponed till late July 2020 as part of coronavirus measures. However, after a while, another statement was made and it is announced that the exams will be held in late June.

Accordingly, the LGS will now be held on June 20 and the YKS will be held on June 27-28 amid further normalization steps by Turkey.

In this context, the TTB has noted that "despite the easing of measures in the country, the outbreak still continues" and briefly stated the following:

'WHO criteria not heeded in easing measures'

"The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that in order for the restrictions to be lifted amid pandemic, the number of new cases should not change or should drop and the number fatalities should gradually decrease for a period of at least 14 days.

"Unfortunately, in our country, the measures have been eased without taking these criteria into consideration. In fact, the outbreak still continues.

'Millions of people will use public transport'

"On the days when the exams will be held, millions of people together with the young population under the age of 20, who have not gone out for three months, as well as their parents and proctors will be on the streets and they will mostly use public transportation.

"Even though measures will be taken in entering the exam halls and taking the exams, there will be a high risk of contact and transmission. A continued use of masks during these hours-long exams will apparently affect the performance of students negatively.

'Outbreak is likely to gain pace again'

"These exams, which are of considerable importance for the future of students, are already a source of anxiety. Taking such an exam amid pandemic conditions increases this anxiety even more. Students and their parents are worried about their health and exam performance.

"While it is likely that the outbreak might gain pace again with the lifting of restrictions, it is not appropriate to announce an exam date. We, as the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), request that these exams be postponed to a period when the outbreak is completely taken under control." (RT/SD)