Authorities launched a probe into allegations of irregularities in the Public Personnel Selection Exam (KPSS) after public outrage.
People who sat the exam last Sunday claimed some questions and answers, at least 20 of them, were directly lifted from a test book published by one of many publishing houses catering to prospective KPSS participants.
The State Auditing Board (DDK) started an investigation on Wednesday while the head of the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM), Halis Aygün, who was in charge of organizing the exam, was sacked by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday. In an earlier statement, the ÖSYM denied any irregularities.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Erdoğan said they would carefully examine the data obtained in the DDK’s investigation and “take necessary steps immediately.” “We never allow even a single son/daughter to be victim,” he said in a tweet. DDK chair Yunus Arıncı was quoted by Turkish media outlets as saying that initial findings pointed to a "problematic situation."
The DDK crews will now examine an ÖSYM database where questions and answers are chosen for each exam while the publishing house will also be probed. It is unclear whether the exam will be annulled if irregularities or fraud are detected.
The KPSS is a stepping stone into the public sector for people of all backgrounds and covers a wide range of questions from all fields, from culture to geography. However, it is no stranger to irregularities. Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) is accused of stealing questions and answers to the 2010 edition of the exam. The exam results of a large number of participants linked to FETÖ were annulled after investigations uncovered the fraud.
