The collapse of the Soviet Union had
a profound impact on the education systems of Central Asia. Drastic cuts in
funding; the cessation of directives and guidance from Moscow; the repatriation
of Russian administrators back to Russia; the emigration of local professors,
scholars, and students to the West; and the rejection of outdated Soviet
curriculums by students demanding training relevant to a modern economy drove
many institutions of higher education in the region into a state of near
paralysis.
Today,
after 15 years of reform, the education systems in Central Asia have recovered
a lot of lost ground. With the assistance of international non- or
inter-governmental organizations such as UNESCO, the World
Bank, USAID, the Open Society Institute/Soros
Foundation, British Council, TEMPUS and many more, the
governments of the newly independent states, with the notable exception of
Turkmenistan, have adopted new norms and drafted legislation in an effort to
raise the quality of their education systems to international standards. While
not all reform measures have been fully implemented or successful, there are
many promising developments.
REFORM
Broadly
speaking, four of the five Central Asian republics have undertaken similar
reform strategies. The fifth, Turkmenistan, regressed significantly under the
authoritarian leadership of President Saparmyrat Niyazov whose cult of
personality transcended all walks of Turkmen life. In education, teaching
centered on the president’s quasi-spiritual guide, the Rukhnama, breeding a
generation of students ill-equipped to function in a modern economy. Since
Niazov’s death in December 2006, there appear to be signs that the new
leadership is aware of the need to reform the country’s crumbling education
system, and decrees repealing Niazov’s shortening of school and university
study cycles are positive developments.
Decentralization
Beyond
Turkmenistan, a pivotal goal of educational reform in Central Asia has been
decentralization and privatization. With the implementation of government
regulations allowing for the operation of inter- and non-governmental
institutions of education in 2004, Uzbekistan officially joined Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in allowing for the creation of private institutions.
While it is generally recognized that the state still exerts significant
control over private institutions in Central Asia, especially in curriculum
development, the simple fact that more than 120 private institutions exist in
Kazakhstan alone represents significant change from the command economy of the
Soviet era.
Beyond
the widespread proliferation of private universities in the region, state
universities have also been granted greater autonomy, a situation that has
given administrators and faculty increased powers and freedoms in determining
their missions, programs, curriculum, and admissions policies. In the case of
Kazakhstan, for example, rectors elected by the ministries of education under
the Soviet system are now elected by non-state academic councils.
Accountability
and Transparency
A
second goal has been to implement accountability and transparency measures to
ensure integrity in the university admissions process and to curb broader
corruption in education, for which former Soviet republics have become
notorious. In admissions, standardized university entrance examinations have
been instituted in favor of university-administered exams to ensure enrollment
based on merit and not bribes paid to professors or administrators, and to
provide disincentive for students to cheat and plagiarize on course work.
Uzbekistan
was the first to introduce a standardized nationwide admissions test. The
National Entrance Exam is based on multiple choice questions, and is organized
by the State Center for Testing. In 2002, an estimated
300,000 students took the test. Sixty percent successfully gained admission to
state universities based on their results.
In
Kyrgyzstan, the National Scholarship Test (Obščepespyblikanskoe
Testirovanie – NST) was introduced in 2002. Testing aptitude, rather than
knowledge retention, the admissions test is seen as a means of de-emphasizing
rote learning among secondary and tertiary students, as well as a tool to curb
corruption in the admissions process. With the award of scholarships and
stipends based on results, the test also has been introduced to promote
competition among test takers. Approximately 50 percent of all secondary school
students took the NST last year.
In
Kazakhstan also, school leavers are now required to pass a centralized
admissions exam if they want to enroll in state universities. The Edinoe
Nacional’noe Testirovanie (Unified National Testing Exam) and its diploma
the Certificat o Rezul’tatah were introduced in 2004. As in Kyrgyzstan,
the test has primarily been introduced as a means of curbing corruption in
university admissions.
Regulation
of quality standards remains for the most part an instrument of the state. In
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan independent accrediting bodies have been developed,
but their efficacy remains unclear at this point, and it can be assumed that
accreditation decisions are made through the offices of the ministries of
education. Theoretically, however, standards are maintained according to a
three-stage process: licensing, attestation, and accreditation. Licensing
permits an educational institution to operate and issue diplomas in the state
format but does not guarantee any standard of quality. Attestation determines
whether an institution meets the state educational standards and is a
prerequisite for accreditation. Attestation is usually valid for a 5-year period
after which the institution has to undergo another review process.
Accredited
institutions are eligible for state funding. Both state and non-state
institutions are eligible for accreditation, although virtually all state
institutions are accredited and many private institutions are not. This
translates into difficulties in assessing the quality of education offered at
private institutions. Accreditation can be suspended or withdrawn at any time
if it is discovered that the institution is not in compliance with the
established criteria.
New
Funding Schemes
A
third goal has been to diversify funding to allow universities to generate new
sources of revenue. State institutions that were formerly funded exclusively by
the state now enroll fee-paying students. In Kazakhstan, approximately one in
four students pay full tuition fees at public universities, while in Kyrgyzstan
more than 72 percent pay tuition fees. In Uzbekistan, state institutions are
permitted to offer fee-paying places equal to the number of state-financed
students they enroll.
Student
loans, scholarships, grants, and sponsorship opportunities are now available.
In addition, universities have been granted permission to rent property, offer
educational services, and accept contributions from international organizations
and private corporations. However, underfunding remains a major problem, which
impacts upon quality, infrastructures, resources, working conditions, salaries,
and ultimately morale.
New
Degree Structure and Credentials
A
fourth goal has been to adopt new Western-style degree cycles and credit hour
systems to facilitate the international recognition of qualifications.
Commonly, this new model has taken the format of four-year bachelor degrees and
two-year master’s degrees. Kyrgyzstan has a slight variation in that 4- to
5-year bachelor/Bakalavr programs are offered plus a one-year master
degree program. At some institutions, the bachelor’s program is only three
years, while at other institutions, students may enroll in a one year master’s
program after having completed the four- or five-year Soviet style Specialist
programs.
In
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan the new degree structures run in parallel
with the old Soviet 4-5 Specialist model, while in Uzbekistan the old Soviet
model has been abolished entirely in favor of the bachelor/master model.
Turkmenistan, again the exception, has in practice a one-cycle higher education
system that requires only two years of coursework and two years of practical
training. Earlier this year, however, the new government did issue a decree
stating that the old five-year Soviet model would be re-introduced.
Despite
the introduction of the new degree structures, Soviet-era degree programs still
predominates in the region: five year programs of specialized education leading
to the Diploma Specialist (Diplom Specialista), followed typically by a
three-year course of study leading to the Kandidat Nauk, and a Doktor
Nauk awarded after completion of a thesis based on original research.
No
reforms have been undertaken at the postgraduate level. The Soviet/Russian Kandidat
Nauk and Doktor Nauk remain intact, although due to limited capacity
for advanced research in Central Asia few postgraduate degrees are awarded.
NEW
INSTITUTIONS
Perhaps
the most notable post-Soviet change in Central Asian higher education has been
in the proliferation of institutions of higher education, especially in the
private sector and from abroad. This has especially been the case in Kyrgyzstan
and Kazakhstan, where private universities have flourished under liberalized
regulations. Despite the 2004 reintroduction of legislation allowing for
private providers in Uzbekistan, very few have actually established there. In
Turkmenistan, private institutions are prohibited.
In
addition to private universities, a number of international and transnational
ventures have also been established in the region.
The
University of Central Asia
Perhaps
the most ambitious, innovative, and promising of this new type of institution
is the University of Central Asia (UCA). UCA was founded
in 2000 as a private, independent and self-governing institution through a
public-private partnership between the governments of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan,
and Kyrgyzstan in association with the Aga Khan Development Network
(AKDN), an international development agency dedicated to improving education,
health care, and economic well-being in Asia and Africa. Recognizing the acute
and precarious political and economic situation in Central Asia after the
collapse of the Soviet Union, and believing in the central role of education in
development, AKDN resolved to establish a world-class international higher
education institution devoted to promoting the socio-economic development needs
of the mountain communities of the region without compromising local cultures
and traditions.
The
university plans to offer a range of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral
degree programs, in addition to a range of vocationally and professionally
oriented certificate programs. Undergraduate courses will be modeled on
American liberal arts programs – two years of general education followed by two
years of specialization – with most courses required and some elected. Academic
excellence and integrity are central to the university’s core values.
The
university will host a campus in each of the three republics – Tekeli,
Kazakhstan, Naryn, Kyrgyzstan, and Khorog Tajikstan — with a mission of
encouraging cross-border, regional dialog through the exchange of information,
students and scholars.
The
university’s School of Professional and Continuing Education
began classes in 2006 at facilities in each of the three campus towns of the
main university sites. Completion of the three main campuses, which are being
designed by a Japanese architectural firm, is slated for 2012, but no firm date
has been set. Once fully operational, officials expect an enrollment of over
3,000 students, and they also hope to draw students from mountainous regions in
neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Iran, and India.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
is a state of enormous natural resources with tremendous potential wealth from
untapped reserves of natural gas, oil, gold, copper, chrome, and aluminum. Not
only is Kazakhstan immensely wealthy when compared to its Central Asian
neighbors, but it has also enjoyed a period of sustained political stability –
if not pluralism – since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In this climate and
with the support of Kazakhstan’s long-serving president, private institutions
have found fertile ground to flourish. In fact, Kazakhstan has more private
institutions than all other Central Asian republics combined (even though its
population represents only 25 percent of the region’s total).
In
the period from 1997 to 2002, the number of institutions increased from 125 to
170: eight national universities, 39 state institutions, and 123 non-state
(private) institutions. The eight national universities are autonomous and
fully government-funded. The 39 state institutions are partly funded by the
state. The private institutions are self-funded. In 1998, 20 percent of all
enrollments were at private institutions, and today that number is likely to be
significantly higher.
KIMEP
The
Kazakh Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Planning and Research (KIMEP)
is the oldest, best known and most widely recognized of Kazakhstan’s newly
established private institutions of higher education.
Occupying
the premises of the former Central Training School of the Communist Party of
Kazakhstan in Almaty, KIMEP offers American-style undergraduate and graduate
degree programs. The undergraduate programs are offered at three colleges: the
Bang College of Business, the College of Social Sciences, and the College of
Continuing Education. Master’s degrees are offered in business administration,
public administration, economics, international relations and international
journalism and mass communication. A doctorate in business administration was
introduced in 2006. Most courses are taught in English and student enrollment
has grown rapidly, currently standing at approximately 4,200.
Established
in 1992, KIMEP has a diverse staff of international faculty from 25 countries
as well as approximately 200 local staff.
The
institution is supported internationally with funding from government and
non-governmental organizations that include the European Union’s TACIS program, the United
States Agency for International Development, the Soros Foundation, the Eurasia
Foundation, and the British Overseas Development Agency through the Know How Fund. Due in part to
Kazakhstan’s vast gas and oil reserves it also receives support from a host of
energy and other private corporations.
Other
private institutions of note in Kazakhstan include the Almaty
Institute of Energy and Communication, the Atyrau Institute of Oil
and Gas, Kazak-American College of Business and Humanities/Ust-Kamenogorsk, and
Eurasia
University.
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
also has been the site of much foreign and private investment in higher
education since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Indeed, Russian, Turkish and
American institutions all operate in Bishkek, the capital of this landlocked
mountainous country with just over 100,000 college students.
American
University of Central Asia
The
American
University of Central Asia (AUCA) is the sibling university to the Central
European University (CEU), which was established in 1991 by
philanthropist George Soros in Prague, and has since moved its operations to
Budapest. CEU was established soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union to
assist Hungary and Czechoslovakia in their transitions to free, democratic, and
open societies.
With
funding from the U.S. State Department, the Soros Foundation’s Open Society
Institute, and the Eurasia Foundation, AUCA has a similar mission. In addition,
it is dedicated to eradicating corruption and proudly boasts to be one of the
few institutions in the region where bribery and cheating do not run rampant.
With
tuition fees set at approximately US$1,700, or the average annual income for a
Krygyz family, AUCA is beyond the means of the average Kyrgyz student, and
hence the university is designed as a small (enrollment is capped at 1,500)
American-style liberal arts college. Its academic program consists of
undergraduate majors in American studies, business administration, cultural
anthropology and archeology, economics, European studies, international and
comparative politics, journalism, law, psychology, sociology, and software
engineering. It offers one graduate program, a master’s degree in business
administration and several preparatory programs in computer basics, English,
mathematics, study skills and TOEFL preparation.
Tajikstan
Due
to long periods of instability and civil war there has been less private and
foreign investment in higher education projects than in neighboring countries.
At independence there were 10 public institutions of higher education. Today,
there are as many as 26 public institutions operating in Tajikistan and seven
independent colleges; although reliable information is hard to come by.
The
Russian-Tajik Slavonic University
The
Russian-Tajik Slavonic University was established through an agreement between
the government of Russia and Tajikistan in 1996. The institute with its 13
Diploma Specialist degree programs fulfils educational standards of both states
and has the authority to award both Russian and Tajik degrees. A majority of
the 2,300 students enrolled at the institution are native Russian speakers.
Uzbekistan
At
independence, Uzbekistan welcomed the idea of establishing private institutions
and passed legislation to allow for their legal operation. However, all
institutions that opened were closed down between 1995 and 1998 by the Ministry
of Education which harbored concerns over the quality of education they were
imparting. A new law was passed in 2002 and enacted in 2004 reaffirming the
legality of private institutions of education; however, few have chosen to
re-open. The International Business School Kelajak Ilmi is one
of the few that has been able to attain a license after years of operating
without one.
Two
autonomous foreign institutions operate in Uzbekistan: the Westminster
International University in Tashkent (UK) and the Tashkent branch of
the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics (Russia).
Westminster
International University in Tashkent
With
a mission of providing a program of higher education that meets international
standards, London-based University of Westminster in cooperation with the Uzbek
government established in 2002 the Westminster International University in
Tashkent (WIUT). The university offers undergraduate programs in business administration, legal studies, business computing, economics, and a master’s degree in international business and management . In
addition, WIUT offers a one-year foundation program that is recognized
internationally as an entry qualification for degree programs.
A
majority of the faculty are local academics who have received degrees from
institutions of higher education abroad. Approximately 10 percent of the
faculty is from outside the region.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
does not have any private institutions of higher education and only admits
3,000 students annually to its public universities – one-tenth the number
before independence in 1991. In addition to universities, there are 14
institutes and two pedagogical institutes that students can attend after
completing secondary school; all are located in the capital Ashgabat, with the
exception of a pedagogical institute in Chärjew.
While
other republics adopted strategies to internationalize their education systems
and actively encourage and support student exchanges, Turkmenistan does not
recognize degrees earned internationally. Additionally, education levels are
far below international standards, making it more difficult for students to
transfer credits to foreign universities.
Professors
and students who do not have a thorough command of the Turkmen language are
also being pushed out of the country’s universities, which now teach almost
exclusively in Turkmen.
Conclusion
While
the collapse of the Soviet Union brought with it many challenges, it also
offered new opportunities in higher education, the most evident of which has
been growth in the number of institutions in the region, driven primarily by
the opening of the private sector. The involvement of supranational and
non-state organizations in this reform movement, and the creation of
transnational universities, is also driving educational change in the region.
With
this trend towards diversification in Central Asian higher education, the task
of evaluating credentials from universities and colleges in the region has
become a more complex and challenging undertaking. The systems of higher
education in Central Asia today are no longer homogenous, as they were in the
Soviet era. Today, students may hold Soviet-style degrees, new Western-style
ones or a combination of the two.
Civil
war, a weak economy, and a more traditional society have held Tajikistan back
from pursuing reforms more vigorously. Authoritarian and oppressive regimes in
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have held back reform in those countries.
Kazakhstan with ample resources and plenty of political will is moving rapidly
forward with reform implementation, while in Kyrgyzstan reform efforts have
moved forward despite substantial political turmoil and limited economic
resources.
