Turkmenistan

New President Decrees Education Reform

Newly elected Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov issued a decree on February 15 rolling back his predecessor's curtailment of the country's educational system, according to turkmenistan.ru. The decree will increase secondary education from nine to 10 years, and university education from two years of study and two years of work to five years of study. The decree sets up a task force with representatives from various ministries to draw up plans for the reform within three months. The reforms will go into effect for the school year starting in September. Education reform figured among Berdymukhammedov's presidential election-campaign promises.

In related news, Turkmen and Russian authorities are holding talks to discuss the implementation of a 2002 cultural cooperation agreement that would boost the teaching of the Russian language in Turkmen schools, where Russian language instruction was reduced to a minimum under President Saparmurat Niyazov. The report also notes that there are plans to double teachers' salaries by January 2008, and that the installation of computers in rural schools has already begun. Moreover, with Turkmenistan slated to restore a tenth year to grade-school education in the fall of 2007, there are plans to provide classes for graduates who only received nine years of grade-school education.

— RFE/RL
    Feb. 16 & 27, 2006

Former Leader’s Musings to Remain Central to School Curriculum

Education Minister Khydyr Saparliev has said the "Rukhnama," musings on Turkmen history and philosophy authored by former President Saparmurat Niyazov, will remain a "core subject" in the country's school curriculum. Nevertheless, Saparliev said that recent educational reforms will give Turkmen students a chance to study abroad. Saparliev said that the "major goal of the reform is to rearrange and refine the national educational system so that it gives opportunities for maximizing the potential of the young generation."

— RFE/RL
    March 8, 2007

Kazakhstan

Education Reform to Drive Kazakhstan’s Global Competitiveness

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to parliament in February education reforms that he hopes will become a central platform in a push to make Kazakhstan one of the 50 most competitive countries in the world. In his state-of-the-nation speech, Nazarbayev emphasized that “almost all successful modern states which are actively integrated in the international economic system have staked on an ‘economy of the mind’. To create this, we have to primarily develop our own human capital.” In particular, Nazarbayev pointed to the need for modern education techniques — including online learning and educational TV. He pledged to open 100 new schools, and called for a system to assess teaching and learning and a method to accredit educational institutions in line with international standards.

“The main criterion of success in education reform is achieving a level whereby any citizen of our country can, after receiving an education and qualification, become a specialist in demand in any country in the world,” said Nazarbayev. Kazakhstan inherited its education system from the Soviet era, gaining a solid base and some good educational facilities but, at the same time, a structure designed around learning facts rather than critical thinking and one in which corrupt practices are reportedly rife.

In a further bid to make the workforce more competitive, the government also seeks to boost the role of English in Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev proposed a new project called Trinity of Languages, with an ultimate goal of making the country trilingual in the state language of Kazakh, in Russian, “the language of inter-ethnic communication,” and in English, “the language of successful integration into the global economy.”

Kazakhstan’s students are also gaining unprecedented exposure to learning abroad via the Bolashak scholarship scheme, which sends 3,000 students annually to study at foreign universities.

— Eurasianet
    March 7, 2007

Russia

Govt. Approves Bill on Two-Tier University Education

The Russian government approved a draft law in March that would open the way for a transition to a two-tier university system. Under the bill, which could come into effect as early as September of this year, bachelor- and master-level programs will be introduced at Russian institutions of higher education. Russia's education and science minister, Andrei Fursenko, said the new first- and second-level programs were meant to be independent higher education levels meeting separate state standards and governed by different certification and qualification rules. The move is in line with Russia’s status as a member of the European educational reform movement, known commonly as the Bologna Process.

— RIA Novosti
March 9, 2007

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