Efforts by the Turkish Maarif Foundation to shut down Gülenist Terror Group-linked (FETÖ) schools in Africa has paid off with the closure of 68 schools.

As a result of negotiations that were conducted via the Foreign Ministry, Morocco, Tunisia and Sierra Leone announced that they have shut the FETÖ-linked schools down, while schools in Guinea, Niger, Sudan and Somalia were taken over by the Turkish Maarif Foundation.

An agreement was also reached regarding the closure of the schools with Senegal, Mauritania, Chad, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Burundi, Sao Tome, Congo and Madagascar, and negotiations with Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Central African Republic are in their final stages.

Turkey will continue to provide education in the schools that were taken over by the Maarif Foundation in accordance with the curriculum of each country.

Additionally, the initiatives of the Maarif Foundation to establish Turkish Studies Centers in the universities of G20 countries for scientific research are still continuing. By establishing these centers in the world's leading economies, it is aimed to provide master and doctorate students with the option to do research on Turkish politics, culture and language.

The Turkish Maarif Foundation was established after the July 2016 coup attempt, in order to take over the administration of overseas schools linked to FETÖ, which is accused of being behind the failed coup that left at least 248 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.

Aware of the threat FETÖ poses to Africa, Turkey has been trying to replace FETÖ-run schools in the continent with Turkish state-sponsored schools. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned African nations on several occasions during visits he paid to the continent, and called on African leaders to cooperate closely with Turkish embassies and state officials.