02 — STORY
Story
A verified chain of events from foundation to closure.
- 1985
Foundation
Foundation FEM Tutoring Centers were founded in Istanbul in 1985 under the name Fırat Education Center. The institution’s aim was to prepare students for Türkiye’s central examinations and to provide them with regular, systematic and trackable academic support. In its early years, the institution served a more limited student body, but over time it began to become known in exam preparation through subject instruction, test practice, mock exams and guidance work.
- 1990
A Recognized Institution in Exam Preparation
In the 1990s, the FEM name became more visible among students preparing for central examinations and their families. Beyond being a structure that merely delivered lessons, the institution built a system that tracked students’ progress through mock exams, identified their gaps and offered guidance support. This period marked the years when FEM began to move beyond being an Istanbul-based institution and turn into a tutoring-center brand known in different cities as well.
- 2000
An Education Network Spread Across Türkiye
In the 2000s, FEM Tutoring Centers became a widespread exam-preparation network operating in many provinces of Türkiye. For students in Anatolia as well as in major cities, they were seen as an important support center in the preparation process for university and selective high schools. Through regular mock exams, intensive test programs, one-to-one follow-up, study sessions and guidance work, the institution aimed to improve students’ exam performance. In this respect, FEM became not only a tutoring-center brand but also part of an educational culture shaped around exam success.
- 2010
Growth, Intense Competition and the Perception of Success
By the 2010s, FEM Tutoring Centers had become one of the best-known private education institutions in Türkiye when exam preparation was mentioned. For students, tutoring centers offered an opportunity to make up academic gaps outside school and prepare more strongly for central examinations. FEM’s reach was especially notable in Anatolian cities. For many students, these institutions were seen as places that supported the children of families who could not access the educational opportunities of major cities in the competition for exams.
- 2014
The Process of Closing Tutoring Centers
With the MEB Law adopted in 2014, the process of closing tutoring centers in Türkiye and converting them into private schools began. The law envisaged the closure of tutoring centers on 01/09/2015 and allowed institutions that applied to convert into private schools until the end of the 2018-2019 academic year. This decision represented a major rupture for institutions such as FEM Tutoring Centers, which were built on preparation for central examinations. That was because the institution’s basic operating model rested directly on the tutoring-center system.
- 2015Sep 1, 2015
End of Tutoring-Center Status
As of 01/09/2015, tutoring-center status was legally ended in Türkiye. This process made it impossible for FEM Tutoring Centers to continue their classic tutoring-center activities. While some institutions entered a conversion process, others stopped operating. The education network known by the FEM name also faced legal, administrative and institutional uncertainties during this period.
- 2016gavelClosureJul 23, 2016
Closure by Decree-Law
Under Decree-Law No. 667 issued after 15 July, many private schools, dormitories, foundations, associations and private education institutions were closed. Some private education institutions bearing the name FEM/Fırat Education Center were also included in the lists of closed institutions. Pursuant to the provisions of the decree-law, the movable and immovable assets, rights, receivables, documents and records of the closed institutions were deemed to have been transferred to the Treasury. In this process, the buildings, educational materials, technical equipment and archives of FEM-linked institutions that were closed also became part of the seizure and transfer process.