
Image celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sapat schools in Kyrgyzstan with the text in Kyrgyz that translates as “Quality education – stable future.” Screenshot from the video “Эл аралык “Сапат” билим берүү мекемесине 30 жыл” from Sapat Official‘s YouTube channel. Fair use.
On December 31, 2024, Kyrgyzstan’s deputy head of the cabinet of ministers, Edil Baisalov, announced the handover of the Sapat educational institutions to the Turkish Maarif Foundation. The handover was a major victory for the Turkish authorities, who have been pressuring the Kyrgyz government to close these schools or surrender them to Turkey's ownership and management since 2016.
This foreign policy was pursued after the failed coup in Turkey, which was blamed on the so-called FETÖ (Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation), also known as the Gulen or Hizmet movement, led by now deceased Fethullah Gulen. According to the Turkish government, Sapat schools were funded and led by FETÖ members and posed significant security threats to Turkey and Kyrgyzstan.
Thus, a network of 11 primary and 16 secondary schools spread across the country's seven regions and one university located in the capital, Bishkek, came under new management. This was a shock to everyone associated with the schools, including leadership, teachers, students, and parents, who were informed of the decision only after it had been made.
A step-by-step process
In its immediate reaction published on December 31, Sapat stated that it would appeal the decision in court within the framework of national and international law. However, on January 2, it shared handing over all the educational institutions to Maarif and noted that from that point onwards the new ownership would bear legal responsibility for its work.
Here is a Facebook post with Sapat's initial reaction to the handover, including its intentions to file a case in court and call for school employees to remain calm and carry on the study process without disruptions.
The head scratching aspect of the handover was that it was made during an ongoing court process over the ownership of Sapat schools with the next hearing scheduled on January 21. The Ministry of Education has filed a case requesting the court to remove an undisclosed Kyrgyz national with the initials A.S. from the list of founders, which would make the ministry the sole entity on that list. This would allow the ministry to make decisions over the fate of these schools unilaterally.
Previously, the authorities removed two other founders. One of them, Orhan İnandı, was removed from the list of founders by a court decision after his kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and jailing in Turkey. The other founder allegedly gave up his founder status voluntarily. In retrospect, it is clear that the last remaining founder was the only thing stopping the ministry from handing the Sapat schools over to Maarif.
Temporary compromise
In 2017, the Turkish government demanded that Kyrgyzstan shut down all the educational institutions owned and managed by Sapat due to its alleged ties with FETÖ. The Kyrgyz government refused, but made the concession of adding the Ministry of Education to the list of founders and promising to insert greater oversight over the organization.
Additionally, as part of the concessions, the authorities rebranded the schools from Sebat to Sapat (the Kyrgyz word for quality) to reflect local ownership and control. Seemingly, a compromise was reached, but it was only for the time being.
In 2018, Turkish Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Cengiz Kamil Fırat raised this issue again by asking that all the Sapat educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan be transferred to Turkey because they were built and maintained over the years by the Turkish taxpayers and government. Fırat stated that Maarif should take over these schools and manage them as Turkey’s official representatives.
These statements were made following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Kyrgyzstan in 2018, in the course of which the two sides agreed to open Maarif schools in Kyrgyzstan as alternatives to Sapat schools. The first and only Maarif school was opened in Bishkek in September 2021.
All these agreements were undermined by the coup that took place in Bishkek in October 2020 that brought in the new political regime, which has proven more amenable to Turkish demands. In June 2021, Orhan İnandı, who served as the long time director of Sapat, was abducted in Bishkek and went missing for several days.
Here is a YouTube video about the abduction of Orhan İnandı.
Later the news emerged that he was arrested by Turkish agents and taken to Turkey, despite having a Kyrgyz passport. Kyrgyzstan’s president Sadyr Japarov blamed the local law enforcement for allowing the kidnapping operation to take place and promised to return İnandı to his family in Kyrgyzstan. However, in 2023, İnandı was sentenced to 21 years in prison on terrorism related charges.
Uncertain future
It is unclear what will become of Sapat schools under the new management. Sapat has operated in Kyrgyzstan since 1992. Its schools are available in every region of the country and offer world-class primary and secondary education in English and local languages. The quality of education is similar across all institutions without a gap between the capital and the periphery, which is rare for Kyrgyzstan.
Over the years its schools have become prestigious and synonymous with academic excellence, discipline, and success based on the results of its students in national and international Olympiads, and the further accomplishments of its alumni. For example, in 2024, 13 of 58 students with the highest scores in university entrance exams were Sapat alumni. In his meeting with the students from Sapat schools, Japarov noted that 90 percent of the students with the highest scores on these exams are Sapat alumni.
Here is a YouTube video about Sapat alumni.
It is yet unclear whether Maarif will manage to uphold the price and quality of education, despite its promises to do so and the ministry’s claim that Maarif will create better conditions for students. Thus far it has been reported that 28 teachers — mainly foreigners who teach science subjects — have left the Sapat schools, and more plan to do so at the end of the academic year in May.
Parents have been complaining that the handover has created a shortage of teachers at the schools and some science classes are being substituted with additional physical education classes. Additionally, a Sapat program called Umut (a Kyrgyz word for hope) that helped students prepare for international Olympiads and university entrance exams was suspended following the handover.
Maarif representatives have promised to attract investments to expand the existing school network, introduce modern educational technologies, and create new opportunities for students. In the short term, it plans to invest USD 2.5 million to upgrade the material and technical base of schools, repair buildings, improve the quality of the educational process, and attract foreign teachers.
It took Sapat over 30 years of continuous excellence to earn nationwide recognition as the best secondary school in Kyrgyzstan. Now it is up to Maarif to uphold and raise that level of excellence, a task the new management will have to prove it can fulfill.