Female students have achieved top honors at all three schools of the National Defense University (MSÜ) for the first time.

İkra Kuyumcu, 23, graduated with honors from the air force academy, Ebru Eroğlu, 24, from the land forces academy and Şeyda Yıldırım, 22, from the naval academy.

Lieutenant Ebru Eroğlu, who graduated from the Military Academy at the top of her class, was born in Istanbul and completed her education up to high school in Istanbul.

The top student of the Naval Academy, at the age of 22, was Lieutenant Şeyda Yıldırım. Yıldırım was born in Kocaeli. The top student of the Air Force Academy Lieutenant İkra Kuyumcu, aged 23, is said to have graduated from İzmir American High School .

Their accomplishments were celebrated at a ceremony held in Istanbul’s Bakırköy district on Aug. 30 and 31. The diplomas were awarded by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“This is not a coincidence. It is the interest and attention of our girls to our war schools, their work and the struggle they put up as a result of this,” he said at the ceremony.

Nearly 200 students participated in the ceremony, including 14 from guest countries.

Military schools in Türkiye were previously managed by the General Staff. They underwent a major reorganization following the 2016 coup attempt. The foiled coup targeted key locations in Ankara, Istanbul and others elsewhere, leading to the deaths of over 250 people.