Overview
The Türkiye Maarif Foundation is a Turkish state-backed foundation that runs schools abroad on behalf of Turkey, including in Afghanistan, where it operates as the Afghan-Turk Maarif Schools. The foundation was registered with Afghanistan's Ministry of Economy in 2017 and began running schools there from 2018. The network covers preschool through secondary education across several Afghan provinces, including Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Jalalabad, Jawzjan, Kandahar and Maidan Wardak, and includes boarding dormitories alongside its academic campuses.
Note
The foundation's own Afghanistan site and its central MAGIS exam portal could not be reached directly while writing this file, so the facts below are drawn from secondary reporting (Anadolu Agency, Daily Sabah) and from the Maarif Foundation's exam materials published for its sister school network in Pakistan, which runs the same MAGIS exam. Confirm current, Afghanistan-specific exam dates, fees and subject weighting on the official site before relying on this page for exact exam-day details.
Who can apply
Afghan-Turk Maarif Schools admit students through their entrance exam at the grade levels each school cycle is recruiting for, including students moving up from grade 7 and above. The network also runs schools reserved for girls and offers free places to orphaned children who qualify. Since the Taliban administration took power in 2021, it has barred girls nationwide from secondary education; reporting on the Maarif schools says they have continued operating, including some schooling for girls, with support from Turkey's embassy in Kabul, but does not give a precise account of how far girls can progress through the Maarif system under the current restrictions. Treat any claim about girls' admission beyond the primary grades as needing a fresh check against current practice.
Exam pattern
Admission runs through the Maarif Admission and General Intelligence Screening exam, known as MAGIS, which the foundation administers across its Afghan schools twice a year. MAGIS is a standardised, computer-scored, multiple-choice test rather than a subjective written exam, built to screen for academically talented students regardless of their earlier schooling.
In the Maarif Foundation's Pakistan school network, which runs the same MAGIS exam, the test is published as 30 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 70 minutes, covering mathematics, general/natural science, English language, and logical reasoning. Afghanistan-specific confirmation of this exact question count and timing was not available from the sources reachable for this review; treat the subjects as indicative of the MAGIS format generally rather than a confirmed Afghanistan exam blueprint.
Marking and results
MAGIS answer sheets are scored by computer rather than by hand, which the foundation presents as a way to keep scoring objective and consistent across its school network. Scholarship offers follow directly from exam performance, subject to additional criteria the schools set for each admission cycle.
Important dates
MAGIS is held twice a year across Afghan-Turk Maarif Schools. The specific months for each year's two exam cycles were not confirmed from the sources available for this review; check the current cycle's dates on the official registration site before applying.
How to apply
Prospective students register through the Afghan-Turk Maarif Schools' own registration portal, which collects student and guardian details ahead of each MAGIS cycle. Candidates sit the exam at an Afghan-Turk Maarif school or an announced exam centre in their province, and results determine both admission and scholarship eligibility for the places available that cycle.
After the exam
Students who clear MAGIS are offered admission, and those who also meet the scholarship criteria the schools set are granted a scholarship place; the network has reported extending free education to orphaned students as part of this. Beyond school, Afghan-Turk Maarif graduates go on to sit Afghanistan's national Kankor university entrance exam like other secondary graduates; Anadolu Agency has reported individual Maarif-school students placing at or near the top of national Kankor results in recent years, which the foundation and Afghan officials have pointed to as evidence of the schools' academic standing. A single reported result is not a guarantee of outcomes for all students, and figures for exam performance will change year to year.
Preparation tips
Because MAGIS is a multiple-choice, computer-scored test rather than an exam based on a fixed national curriculum, Maarif school networks elsewhere recommend practising timed multiple-choice questions in mathematics, science, English and logical/general-reasoning problems rather than rote revision of a single textbook. Students should get the current exam's official sample papers or syllabus notice, where the school publishes one, rather than relying only on general practice material.
FAQs
What is the Türkiye Maarif Foundation's role in Afghanistan?
It is a Turkish state-backed foundation that has run a network of schools in Afghanistan, known as the Afghan-Turk Maarif Schools, since 2018, offering preschool-to-secondary education and boarding dormitories across several provinces.
What exam do I need to take to get into an Afghan-Turk Maarif school?
Admission runs through the Maarif Admission and General Intelligence Screening exam (MAGIS), a computer-scored, multiple-choice test held twice a year, which also determines scholarship eligibility.
Are Afghan-Turk Maarif Schools still operating under the Taliban administration?
Reporting indicates the schools have continued running since the Taliban took power in 2021, including some schooling for girls with support from Turkey's embassy in Kabul, though exact current details on provision for girls should be confirmed directly with the schools, since nationwide restrictions on girls' secondary education remain in place.
Can orphaned students get free education at Afghan-Turk Maarif Schools?
Yes. The network has reported offering free places to orphaned boys and girls who qualify, alongside its regular MAGIS-based scholarship places.