Many exams are held across the country every year. University entrance exams and the Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS) are among the most important. When these exams are organized, staff who will serve during the exam—especially teachers—are selected in advance and receive specific training. In this article, we will outline what teachers assigned to KPSS exam duties must do.
Before listing the obligations of teachers who will serve in KPSS exam halls, let’s briefly explain what the Public Personnel Selection Examination is, who can take it, and how hall staff are chosen.
Public Personnel Selection Examination
The Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS) is held in designated periods each year for public sector recruitment. Candidates who aim to become civil servants must take this exam and achieve a score above a required threshold. In odd-numbered years (for example 2015, 2017), KPSS is taken by university graduates preparing for A-group positions and by those applying for teaching positions. In even-numbered years, the exam covers teacher candidates, applicants for positions filled from B-group lists, associate degree graduates and high school graduates.
KPSS begins with the General Ability and General Knowledge tests. The General Ability section includes Turkish and Mathematics questions, while General Knowledge covers History, Geography, Citizenship and Current Affairs. Candidates are given a fixed time to complete the exam, and for some specializations an additional test may be administered.
Within this framework, candidates usually prioritize questions that maximize their scores, focusing first on items from their own fields of study to improve their overall results.
Now we will turn to the duties that teachers assigned to KPSS exam halls must perform. For nationwide exams, personnel are appointed in advance and provided with mandatory training. The regulations published for KPSS define “staff” as those who take on duties during the exam and carry responsibility for the conduct and administration of the test.
Below is an overview of the typical roles and positions involved in the organization and execution of KPSS exams:
- Chief Coordinator
- ÖSYM Central Exam Coordination Committee
- ÖSYM Exam Coordination Committee
- ÖSYM Exam Coordinator (Regional/provincial/district)
- Building Exam Supervisor (BSS)
- Assistant Building Exam Supervisor (BSSY)
- Building Manager (BY)
- Hall Chief (SB)
- Invigilator/Reserve Invigilator
- ÖSYM Representative/ÖSYM Representative for Disabled Candidates
- Exam Assistants for Disabled Candidates (Reader/Pointer)
- Exam Material Transfer Officer
- Exam Material Transfer Security Officer
- Exam Material Protection Officer
- Intra-city Exam Material Transfer Officer
- Intra-city Exam Material Transfer Security Officer
- Exam Building Security Officer
- Service Staff
- Building Inspection and Device Manager
- Building Technical Officer
- Hall Technical Officer
- ÖSYM Exam Observer
During the exam, the greatest responsibility falls on hall staff. They are responsible for maintaining order in the examination room and enforcing the rules.
The primary duty of the Hall Chief is to ensure compliance with exam procedures. No candidate without both the exam entry document and a valid ID card may be admitted to the hall. Candidates who do not meet these requirements have their exams invalidated.
Teachers assigned to KPSS exams must arrive at the exam building and take their positions in the assigned hall at least 1 hour and 15 minutes before the exam begins. One of their crucial tasks is verifying candidates’ documents: ID cards and exam entry documents must be checked for every candidate before admission.
Cameras in the exam halls must be operational throughout the exam. Invigilators should verify that these cameras are functioning. Each hall must display both an analog and a digital clock; in case of a power outage the digital clock may fail, so the two clocks must show the same time to avoid confusion.
Another mandatory task is conducting name checks 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the exam using the candidates’ entry documents. After names are confirmed, sealed question booklets are distributed to candidates in protective bags. The barcode or QR-code labels from question booklets must be affixed to the attendance register. Hall staff must never allow question booklets to be removed from the exam room, and once a candidate leaves the hall they cannot be readmitted.
These procedures and responsibilities are intended to ensure a secure, fair and orderly examination environment. Teachers serving in KPSS halls must follow the rules carefully, arrive on time, check identity documents thoroughly, monitor equipment and camera operation, and strictly enforce the policy that exam materials remain within the hall for the duration of the test.