As for all societies, quality education is the pioneer of development and progress for Turkey. For quality education continuous improvements, analysis and solutions to current problems are required. To this end, 23 members composed of teachers and conscious families took the initiative to establish the Modern Education Cooperative (MEC) in Bursa province in 1995, the first education cooperative of Turkey based fully on solidarity and self-help.
Today, the cooperative has 1.600 members and 105 employees. Average annual turnover is around 650.000 Euros/1.500.000 Turkish Liras. MEC owns a kindergarten, a primary school, a cultural center and two dormitories. Alongside the comfortable physical conditions, all these facilities have a modern, democratic and participatory management. In our facilities, students are nurtured as individuals and leaders of the future with social and cultural activities, excursions, sports contests, poetry readings and music recitals. 541 students benefit from these facilities while 165 are given full scholarship.
The mission of MEC is to raise well educated and socially beneficial generations with an education policy which is adherent to contemporary and universal values indicated by Ataturk, the founder of Turkey and which fully adopts the cooperative principles. In line with this mission, main objectives of MEC are to host and educate successful and needy students in its modern education and training facilities, to support young generations in their preparations to become better equipped for life, to support the country in finding solutions to educational problems and to develop policies at national level to help raise healthy and prosperous generations, to demonstrate to society the importance and benefits of education cooperatives, to cooperate with institutions and organizations with similar objectives at national and international levels.
With the strength provided by its members and highly qualified staff who fully believe in the power of cooperation, MEC carries out its activities to achieve these objectives. Unaffected by the financial crisis and moving one step further every passing day, the Modern Education Cooperative believes that it owes its success to the cooperative spirit and its business model based on the cooperative principles.