Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar recently discussed the new paid conscription program colloquially known as “bedelli askerlik,” which roughly translates as “paid military service,” with the state-run Anadolu Agency. A law passed in July granted a one-time opportunity for men to complete their compulsory military service in just 21 days if they pay 15,000 Turkish liras (about $2,840) before Nov. 3.

Akar said 634,415 men had applied for the program, in which 37 classes will serve through February 2020. The program has processed three classes since August.

But “pay to serve less time” schemes, of which five have been implemented from 1987 until 2014, are controversial in Turkey. The programs worsen the divide among the country’s “haves” and “have nots” and undermine unit morale. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) high command looks down on such programs. Especially during the TSK’s struggle with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in the 1980s and 1990s, in which units composed of conscript soldiers did much of the fighting before they were professionalized in the 2000s, such discrepancies created a sense of injustice. Today, the new “bedelli” program could threaten the TSK’s hard-earned prestige that it recovered with difficulty since the failed coup attempt of 2016.

Durations for mandatory service are already inegalitarian in Turkey, where all men above the age of 20 who are physically and mentally fit (and apparently heterosexual) are expected to serve between six to 12 months. Graduates from four-year programs at institutions of higher learning serve either as privates, corporals or sergeants for six months or as commissioned officers for 12 months. Those with two-year college degrees and below, however, must serve 12 months as privates, corporals or sergeants. (The latter category had to serve for 15 months until 2013.) Deferments and exemptions are widely available for those enrolled in college or graduate school or if one suffers from an illness. Turkish nationals who have worked abroad for at least three years or have dual citizenship could pay 2,000 euros ($2,256) without serving.