Welcome to the first in a new occasional series on the blog called New education research on Central Asia. The idea is that from time to time, I will review new book chapters and journal articles written about education in Central Asia. My aims are to raise awareness of these new publications and offer a summary of the key …
Tag: education
They cared for cattle more than kids -Tajik President recasts the Soviet era
Whilst popular opinion across the former Soviet Union generally remembers the Soviet period with more than a hint of the rose-tinted glasses - see this summary of an EBRD survey in 2016 or this Sputnik News story on my blog from August 2016 - one man is seemingly on a mission to upend these conceptions. And he's someone that people have …
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The power of education: A journey from the mountains of Khorog, Tajikistan, to a world stage
Muslima Niyozmamadova, a high school student from Tajikistan studying at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya, is a powerful and uplifting example of how one person's journey in life can drive them to seek change and how education can provide the tools to make that change. Niyozmamadova has made two big moves already in her short years, firstly …
Inter-regional soft power: Kazakhstan and Tajikistan meet again
First, greetings from Canada and a note on the silence on the blog for the past few weeks. After a whirlwind summer taking in three continents and cramming in temporary farewells to family and friends, I have now moved to Toronto, Canada and have started my PhD in Higher Education and Comparative, International & Development Education at …
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School education in Central Asia – the four challenges for 2015
In this round up of education news from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan at the start of 2015, a number of paradoxes emerge, none of which lend themselves to quick or easy solutions. Here are the four issues that I think will be on the agenda for education in the region this year: 1. Reform needed, but at whose cost? …
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Skills deficit will bring Tajikistan to its knees; education and training must be prioritised
Avaz Saifiddinov, a journalist with as-independent-as-is-possible-in-Tajikistan Asia-Plus media group, this week reports [ru] – in almost apocalyptic terms – on the devastating impact that a lack of education and skills training can bring to a nation. He calls this qualification deficit the single biggest problem facing Tajikistan today, more so than corruption, lack of electricity …
Visualising educational disparity in Uzbekistan
UNDP has produced this eye-catching visual representation of what would otherwise be a very long statistics heavy report showing the state of education in Uzbekistan, which a focus on the differences in participation and outcome based on gender. Reproduced below (c) UNDP Uzbekistan, source http://visual.ly/women-and-men-uzbekistan-difference-education. Infographics are an excellent way of familiarising people with what can …
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A monument for all seasons: honouring teachers in Kazakhstan
There is something very Soviet/Central Asian about putting up monuments, and it's definitely a fashionable thing to do at the moment (recent achievements include the world's tallest flagpole in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan has the world record for the largest Ferris wheel). Today I can report that Kazakhstan is planning to build the country's first monument 'dedicated to …
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University of Central Asia public lecture on education and identity among Pamiri youth – 22 August, Bishkek
This lecture looks really interesting. I can't attend (being in Oxford, not Bishkek at the moment!) but if any readers go, I'd love to hear your comments. Here is the info from University of Central Asia's website: http://www.ucentralasia.org/news.asp?Nid=384 Education, Identity and Resilience among Gorno-Badakhshan Pamiri Youth by Carole Faucher Speaker: Carole Faucher Date: 22 August …
Post-Soviet education, part 2: Uzbekistan
Here are a couple of stories about cotton-rich Uzbekistan. The first, from a blog called Why Nations Fail, looks at the phenomenon of children being forced to pick cotton when they should be in school. Below is an extract from the blog post specific to Uzbekistan: ... For starters, take Uzbekistan. Why does it have …
Emma Sabzalieva 