Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Founder of Turkey, who believed in the vital importance of the role of education for the modernization of the country, stated in his speech at the inauguration of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in November, 1925 that in order to reach the goal set for a modern education system in Turkey there was a need for the involvement of the private enterprise. Turkish Education Association was founded on 31 October, 1928 on the basis of this vision and in line with the pioneering efforts of Atatürk and his friends. On December 12, 1939, it was afforded the legal status of ‘Association for Public Good’ by the decision of the Cabinet.
As stated in the second clause of its charter, the President of the Turkish Republic is the Guardian of the Turkish Education Association. TED is a long-established civil society organization that provides scholarships to successful students with limited income, opens schools and dormitories with foreign language as the medium of instruction in both Turkey and abroad, builds scientific platforms to further the efforts to bring the level of education in Turkey on a par with the contemporary world standards, creates awareness about the problems of the education system in Turkey and its possible solutions, and contributes to the formulation of Turkish educational policies. As of now, TED has 38 schools, 2 representation offices, a student dormitory, an alumni office, and many sports clubs affiliated with its schools.