The Maarif Foundation, an İstanbul-based educational foundation, was established with the approval of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish President and Chairperson of the country’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), only one month before the attempted coup on July 15, 2016, in order to operate against the schools of the religious Fethullah Gülen Sect abroad. Formerly provided with extraordinary privileges by the AKP administration, such as being the only institution alongside the Ministry of National Education to open schools abroad, the foundation is now given the right to perform exams to hire teachers and directors.
The foundation received 241 million Turkish Lira (more than $50 million) last year and 351 million (more than $73 million) this year from the budget of the Education Ministry, and has incorporated 105 schools in 20 countries that formerly belonged to the Gülen Sect.
While Prof Dr Birol Akgün, the president of the foundation, states that the Maarif Foundation “not only provides education in our schools, but also enables the Turkish view of education and values special to our nation to rise on a sound basis”, the privileges and rights provided for the foundation indicates other functions of it.
In addition to being the only institution to open schools abroad, except for the Education Ministry, the foundation performed an exam on July 15 this year to hire teachers and school directors. Moreover, so as to hire those close to the AKP, the foundation will also hold a series of interviews with the candidates with a score of over 70 between August 8 and 12.
The articles of the law for the foundation actually reveals the true power and authority it holds. Virtually operating as a second ministry for education, the foundation has the right to
- open new educational institutions in all three levels, as well as educational training courses and cultural centres,
- creating websites, and producing, developing, and issuing educational materials approved by the Ministry of Education,
- building, purchasing, and renting places such as dormitories, guest houses, and boarding houses,
- conducting scientific research and R&D works on educational methodology and curriculum, holding symposiums, conferences, and workshops on the field, and publishing the works on related areas,
- establishing educational facilities and developing educational programmes, supporting and encouraging such programmes globally in order to train people who can assume positions such as instructor, lecturer, consultant, and academic in educational institutions,
- receiving in-kind and in-cash aids from inside and outside the country, establishing or taking in partnership with businesses inside or outside the country in order to receive income.
