Turkey’s National Defense University has received more than 107,000 applications for its first military student candidate exam, as the armed forces seek to rebuild staffing after mass purges following the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
Applications opened on January 9 and will continue until February 15.
The number of applicants surpassed 100,000 in the first four days and has now reached 107,000, including 24,000 women.
The National Defense University, known by its Turkish initials MSÜ, was established after the coup attempt as part of a restructuring of military education.
The government closed Turkey’s former military academies and transferred officer and noncommissioned officer training to the new university structure.
The MSÜ Military Student Candidate Determination Exam will be held for the first time on March 18 in all 81 provinces.
The exam will include 120 multiple-choice questions covering Turkish, basic mathematics, social studies and science.
Candidates who pass the written exam will qualify for the second selection stage.
Final primary and reserve lists will be determined based on physical proficiency tests, interviews and exam scores.
A total of 3,761 officer candidates and 5,992 noncommissioned officer candidates will be selected for training at military academies.
Officer candidates who complete approximately six months of training may be appointed as lieutenants.
The high number of applications comes as the Turkish Armed Forces continue to fill vacancies created by large-scale dismissals, suspensions and prosecutions after the coup attempt.
