The official opening of the International Maarif Schools campus in North Macedonia's capital Skopje was marked on Tuesday.
Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop also attended the opening ceremony in Skopje as part of his visit to North Macedonia.
Şentop in his address said: "Our nation is one of the exceptional nations that brought together countless cultures in the past and raised civilization."
"Türkiye, unlike imperialist countries with a colonial past, aims to raise generations who will use science and wisdom for the peace and tranquility of humanity through the Turkish Maarif Foundation," he emphasized.
Maarif Foundation Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees Ahmet Emre Bilgili also noted that the Turkish Maarif Foundation was established in 2016 and explained that the foundation has continued its activities in many countries since its establishment.
"Today, the Turkish Maarif Foundation continues to work with nearly 450 educational institutions in 51 countries, with over 51,000 students and 8,500 teachers. In other words, it has become a global educational institution of the Republic of Türkiye. Our foundation attaches special importance to its work in the Balkans. Accordingly, it continues educational activities from preschool to high school in Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Romania."
The Maarif Foundation has been running an international network of schools over the six years since its establishment. The foundation, authorized by the government to operate Turkish schools abroad, enjoys vast success and has expanded since its founding.
Its 429 schools in six continents made Maarif the country’s leading brand of education across the world as Ankara strives to boost its "soft power."
Along with schools in 49 countries, the foundation runs 42 dormitories across the globe, serving nearly 50,000 students. Maarif was founded to raise Türkiye’s prominence in the international education community, improve bonds with other countries and curb the influence of schools linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
Along with new schools, it controls the schools seized from the terrorist group, which long posed as a charity movement with a large school chain from Africa to Asia.
Maarif schools offer a diverse curriculum with a touch of Turkish. From science courses to coding and IT tech to classes on local culture, Turkish language and other languages, the foundation competes with other international schools in each country. Maarif's institutions naturally prioritize learning the Turkish language and set up a special curriculum that aims to help every graduate achieve fluency. It also hosts education fairs to attract foreign students to Turkish universities.
The foundation has also set up the Maarif Agency, a branch organizing education fairs across the world, to attract more students to Türkiye.