The Success Story of TMF

The Turkish Maarif Foundation is 10 years old. Established by a law adopted in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) on June 17, 2016, and setting out with the ideal of “let a new voice rise in the world” under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary with a magnificent program held at the Beştepe Nation’s Library , Ankara, Türkiye on October 15, 2026.

President Erdoğan’s speech at the program was like a summary of the 10-year journey: “Praise be to Allah, the Turkish Maarif Foundation, which set out 10 years ago with great goals, is today operating on 6 continents and in 66 countries. I once again congratulate our foundation, which provides quality education to more than 90,000 students in 611 institutions worldwide.” The figures given by the Foundation’s President, Mahmut M. Özdil, also confirm this growth; more than 600 educational institutions and more than 90,000 students on all continents except Antarctica.

The Foundation’s mission is not just to open schools. As President Erdoğan stated, “the human stories behind the numbers” are essential. The Foundation, which sees international education as a “long marathon,” aims to build a holistic ecosystem that combines the local curriculum with international programs such as Cambridge, develops its own International Maarif Program (IM), and teaches Turkish as an elective foreign language in every school. This is also the main reason why it is seen as Turkey’s most effective cultural diplomacy tool.

One of the strongest and most meaningful pillars of this global ecosystem is Pakistan. Pakistan is not an ordinary country for the Turkish Maarif Foundation; it is the brotherly country where the largest and most deep-rooted operation is carried out. The Foundation’s story in Pakistan begins with the demand to take over the Pak-Turk schools affiliated with FETO in 2016 and enters a new era with the official takeover in January 2019. The structure, which at that time had 23 schools and approximately 11,000 students, has today turned into a huge educational network.

Today, Pak-Turk Maarif International Schools and Colleges operate in 10 cities, including the capital Islamabad, with 27 campuses. In these campuses, more than 15,000 students are educated, more than 1,700 teachers and more than 2,000 total staff are employed, and services are provided with 9 student dormitories.

The most critical turning point of the Pakistan operation is the change in its legal status. Initially registered as an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO), the Foundation gained the status of “an official institution of Türkiye” with an agreement approved by the Federal Cabinet of Pakistan on January 13, 2021, and signed during the visit of then Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. This agreement paved the way for the protection of Maarif’s investments and the expansion of its operations in various areas such as schools, campuses, education and culture centers, student exchange programs and scholarships.

The reason why the Pakistan model is different is its approach to academic excellence and bilingual education. Maarif schools in Pakistan blend the Pakistani national curriculum (Federal Board and Cambridge) with the International Maarif Program. Students are taught Turkish from an early age, and generations who know Turkish and are friends of Türkiye are raised with Turkish Culture and Civilization courses. Campuses in cities such as Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar ,Quetta, Multan, Hyderabad, and Jamshoro are shown among the most successful international schools in the country.

In terms of social impact and scholarships, the Foundation not only provides paid education but also offers full scholarships to successful students from disadvantaged regions of Pakistan, during the pandemic period, it pioneered digital transformation by providing more than hundreds of hours of uninterrupted education in thousands lessons through online education launched via Blackboard Collaborate.

Now, Türkiye-Pakistan educational cooperation is crossing another historic threshold. With the project that came up during President Erdoğan’s visit to Pakistan in February 2025 and is closely followed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Maarif has opened its first school in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The Pak-Turk Maarif International Campus established in Muzaffarabad , will be the Foundation’s 28th campus in Pakistan. It is operational now for the 2026-2027 academic year with 45 modern classrooms and a capacity of approximately 1,000 students, this campus is providing education from kindergarten to higher secondary school.

This expansion is not just about opening a school. This education system stretching from Islamabad to Kashmir is the embodiment of what First Lady Emine Erdoğan said during her visit to Islamabad Maarif School: “For our Pakistani children, Türkiye is not a foreign country, but a second homeland.”

Transforming from a legacy of few schools and educational campuses taken over 10 years ago into a voice echoing in 66 countries today, the Turkish Maarif Foundation does not only provide education in Pakistan; it carries the historical bond between the two brotherly nations into the future in classrooms, laboratories and graduation ceremonies.