Date posted: April 21, 2015

Afghan Education Minister Dr. Shafiq Samim has said he is proud to have Turkish schools in Afghanistan and that they have become a model for Afghan private schools.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of an education center of the Afghan-Turkish Çağ Education İnstitutes (ATCE) in Kabul on April 15, Samim said that when a private school applies to the education ministry, they promise to provide quality education similar to that found in Turkish schools. Underlining the fact that thousands of Afghan students are well educated in these schools, Samim noted that these students rank high in university entrance exams.

Reiterating the fact that Afghan Turkish schools fully supported Afghanistan as it has gone through a very difficult period over the last 30 years, Samim said that everything has been overturned by the civil war, bringing the state to near collapse with internal conflicts. “Afghanistan will never forget this and will maintain our support for these schools,” Samim added.

Praising the educational activities of the Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet movement, in Afghanistan, Samim stated that both the Hizmet movement and Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, whose teachings constitute the basis of the movement, look on the children of Afghanistan as though they were their own. Samim expressed his gratitude to the Hizmet movement and Gülen for their positive contributions to education in his country.

Along with Samim, Kabul Provincial Education Director Basher Ahmet Vardak, ATCE President Numan Erdoğan and a group of Afghan parliamentarians, politicians, officials and opinion leaders were also present at the opening ceremony.

ATCE President Numan Erdoğan, speaking during the ceremony, said that Afghan Turkish schools, which have been in operation in Afghanistan since 1995, produced 606 graduates across the country in 2014. Erdoğan said the educational center they are opening will serve 700 students, including 300 girls, free of charge. The university admission rate of the graduates is 99 percent, Erdoğan said, and he also mentioned that 30 percent of their graduates are now involved in education activities in at least 42 countries around the world. Erdoğan said the total number of graduates since they established a presence in the country has exceeded 5,000, and presently 8,000 students, including 2,000 girls, are studying in Turkish schools in Afghanistan.

Source: Today's Zaman , April 20, 2015

Tags: Afghanistan | Education | Hizmet-inspired schools |