In case you missed this story of hope and friendship that was published recently on the BBC, I'm reposting it here. Written by Abdujalil Abdurasulov, the story looks at how over 100 young adult Kyrgyz volunteers are reaching out to teens around the country to offer them companionship during Covid-19. It's a wonderful initiative and …
Continue reading Coronavirus: The strangers reaching out to Kyrgyzstan’s lonely teenagers (BBC)
This is an insightful article by Bishkek-based journalist Ayzirek Imanaliyeva published in Eurasianet on some of the challenges posed by Kyrgyzstan's necessitated shift to online learning in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The article was published at https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-distance-learning-exposes-weaknesses-of-education-system. Bolsunai Turgunbayeva’s three school-age daughters take turns using her battered old smartphone. The device has become …
Continue reading Kyrgyzstan: Distance-learning exposes weaknesses of education system (Eurasianet)
It's been longer than usual since I've posted, mainly because there's not much to say about education in Central Asia that's not related to Covid-19. For a round-up of how the five states have been approaching the novel coronavirus, take a look at my April 1 post (not a joke, sadly). Since then, Tajikistan has …
Continue reading Doing environmental research in Central Asia (online lecture, May 7)
With the world's attention drawn to the coronavirus pandemic for the foreseeable future, this week's post looks at the current impact of Covid-19 on education in Central Asia. First, a few shout outs to others reporting on the spread of coronavirus in the region. For general updates on what's happening across Central Asia, check out …
The world is a different place these days as COVID-19 spreads its wings in all directions (officially reaching Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan by the time of writing on March 18). When we look back on these unusual times, I think we will see that coronavirus achieved what no politician, activist, or movement has yet managed …
If cats did celebrations... PS Women: you don't need a cat to be successful. But you knew that already. 8th March saw the annual marking of International Women's Day (IWD), which is a formal opportunity to celebrate female success on the one hand, but also a time to lament the continued global persistence of male-dominated …
Continue reading International Women’s Day: Celebrating female success, still marching for progress
For a small country with a population of a little over 6 million, Kyrgyzstan has an awful lot of universities - 68 at last count. For comparison, Singapore (population 5.8m) has exactly half as many and El Salvador (identical population to Kyrgyzstan) has 26 universities. As with many countries in the former Soviet space, the …
Say hi to Pep, who likes to hang out at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Pep has nothing to do with today's story but I seem to have exhausted most of the internet's attempts at cat memes relevant to university students. Whereas their Uzbek counterparts are being sent home from studying abroad, Kyrgyz students …
No choice but to home for Uzbekistan's overseas students Uzbekistan's Ministry of Education has announced that Uzbek students studying abroad in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan should return home and enrol at a domestic higher education institution. The Ministry has been quick to underline that this decision is not connected to the novel coronavirus that …
Continue reading Why are Uzbek students abroad being sent home?
The all-female team at Kyrgyz Space Program had the idea first! As some of you know, I am an enthusiastic supporter of a brilliant initiative for girls and young women in Kyrgyzstan called the Kyrgyz Space Program. The Kyrgyz Space Program is aiming high: specifically, into space. They plan to build and launch Kyrgyzstan's first …
Continue reading Lift off! Kyrgyz Space Program launches its next phase
