|
Turkmanistanâs Nutty Niyazov Firing Everyone With a Foreign Diploma
Turkmen state workers who received their diplomas of higher education from schools outside of the country after 1993 have received a letter from the authorities notifying them that their degrees will no longer be recognized in Turkmenistan after 1 June. The letter notes they will be dismissed from their jobs as of that date, as well. .... The letter of notification implements a general decree passed by the Education Ministry in June 2003. In a televised speech last year, Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov explained the motives behind the decree. "There are about 5,000 Turkmen students who are studying abroad," Niyazov said. "Among them, there are honest as well as dirty people, too. If we donât have an agreement with those countries, students should be taught in our country." It is unclear why the year 1993 was chosen, or how many people are affected by the decree. But the dismissal of teachers, doctors, engineers, and other professionals in Turkmenistanâs state-run economy is expected to be massive. Observers say the move will further erode the countryâs social services, increase unemployment, and force many members of Turkmenistanâs educated class into permanent exile. .... Bess Brown, a Germany-based expert on Central Asia, says the new measure is consistent with past government practices. "Obviously, most people affected by it were going to be people who had taken degrees in the Russian Federation because thatâs where people went to study, including Niyazov," Brown said. "His degree is from Leningrad [Polytechnic Institute]. [But] it affects everyone of every nationality. Itâs part of this policy of wrecking the educational system that Niyazov has been engaged in for several years now." Turkmenistanâs education system has been in steady decline. Universities accept only about 3,000 students a year, one-tenth of the number before independence in 1991. Education levels are far below international standards, as well, 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 countryâs universities, which now teach almost exclusively in Turkmen. Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-05-07 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=32470 |