Turkey provides scholarships for children of Afghan security forces who have lost their lives in defending their country.
“As a historical brother and a true friend of Afghanistan, we place particular emphasis to the education of the children of martyrs who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending their country,” said Cihad Erginay, Turkish ambassador in Kabul. “We also provide scholarships for these children.”
He said that Turkish scholarships are also available for the students who graduate with remarkable grades.
According to the envoy, the quality of education in schools run by Turkish Maarif Foundation improved after Turkey signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Afghanistan in February 2018.
“Students and their parents have been witnessing the increased quality of the education and sharing their positive feedbacks with the Afghan authorities and public, we have started to receive demands to enhance our engagement with Afghanistan in the education sector,” Erginay said. “As a result, we agreed to work in tandem with the Afghan Ministry of Education to bolster the national education strategy.”
He said that TMF also provided online courses for the Ministry of Education, since the early days of Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the envoy, the system in place is such that all revenue generated by the schools will be re-invested to strengthen the Afghan education system.
Turkey has a long affiliation with Afghanistan and a shared history and religion. As a Muslim-majority nation and a member of NATO, Turkey has played a consistent role in Afghanistan since 2001, including sending troops in noncombat roles.
Turkey currently has about 500 service members in Afghanistan, where its main mission has been providing security for the Kabul airport.
The airport is the gateway to Afghanistan for workers from international aid groups and other nongovernmental organizations and health care providers that remain vital in a nation long reliant on foreign assistance to provide basic services.
Turkey and Afghanistan have also established education and cultural exchange programs.
