Central Asia

Regional overview

Historically, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia), Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north.

It is also sometimes referred to as Middle Asia, and, colloquially, "the 'stans" (as the five countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with that suffix) and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.

Various definitions of its exact composition exist, and no one definition is universally accepted. Despite this uncertainty in defining borders, it does have some important overall characteristics. For one, Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road. As a result, it has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, West Asia, South Asia, and East Asia.

In modern contexts, all definitions of Central Asia consensually include these five republics of the former Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan), Turkmenistan), and Uzbekistan, with a total population of 61.5 million as of 2009 - in other words, in total around the size of one of the larger members of the European Union.

Other areas often included are Mongolia, Afghanistan, northern and western Pakistan, northeastern Iran, Kashmir, and sometimes Xinjiang in western China and southern Siberia in Russia.

For VISCED purposes, Central Asia is defined in the stricter sense above purely as the countries of the former Commonwealth of Independent States that are mainly or partially in Asia, as judged by cultural as well as geographic frontiers.

The complete list is:

1. Kazakhstan (pop. 16.0 million)
2. Kyrgyzstan (5.5 million)
3. Tajikistan (7.3 million)
4. Turkmenistan (5.1 million)
5. Uzbekistan (27.6 million).

This corresponds exactly to the definition of the Central Asia subregion in the UN geoscheme (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_geoscheme_for_Asia). It is thus a subset of the countries in the wider supraregion of Category:Asian former CIS which includes Transcaucasia also.

Education in Central Asia

The collapse of the Soviet economic block and the move to a market economy brought two fundamental needs to the education systems of Central Asia. The first was to create functioning Ministries of Education with the capacity to establish education policy as well as to oversee the provision of education and to ensure its quality. The second was to reorient education programs to the new needs arising from the transition from a command economy to a market economy. The countries have dealt differently with these challenges resulting in quite significant variations in the education systems.

Kazakhstan - Once leaving lower secondary school after 9 years of study, there are three tracks available. Students are free to choose any track of higher secondary education but are required to pursue one track. Graduates of all three tracks are eligible to enter university. The first track is a general secondary school which covers grades 10 -11 and provides general education covering a variety of subjects. In addition, there are two curriculum tracks for vocational education: Initial vocational education which is provided by training schools and lycees, and secondary vocational education provided by colleges and trade schools. Tertiary education is provided by a number of public and private institutions.

Kyrgyzstan - Education in Kyrgyzstan is compulsory for nine years, between ages 7 and 15. Following four years of primary and five years of lower secondary school, the system offers two years of upper secondary school, specialized secondary school, or vocational/technical school. In 2001 some 89 percent of the relevant age-group was enrolled in the compulsory program, but this figure has decreased in the early 2000s.

Tajikistan - Education in Tajikistan consists of four years of primary school followed by two stages of secondary school (lasting five and two years, respectively). Attendance at school is mandatory from age seven to seventeen.

Turkmenistan - Education in Turkmenistan is obligatory for nine years. However, the government has limited curricula by eliminating a wide variety of studies that are considered dangerous or useless. Funding has not matched the growing population, teacher salaries have been reduced, and the infrastructure is in poor condition. Some 16 institutions of higher education were operating in the early 2000s, but the government has limited access to higher education by eliminating free tuition in 2003 and by requiring ethnic background checks on applicants.

Uzbekistan - In Uzbekistan, eleven years of primary and secondary education are obligatory, starting at age seven. This requirement includes four years of primary school and two cycles of secondary school, lasting five and two years, respectively. The rate of attendance in those grades is high, although the figure is significantly lower in rural areas than in urban centers. Lack of budgetary support has been more noticeable at the primary and secondary levels, as the government has continued to subsidize university students. Between 1992 and 2001, university attendance dropped from 19 percent of the appropriate age group to 6.4 percent. There are 63 institutions of higher education in Uzbekistan

Schools in Central Asia

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the gaining of independence by Central Asian states, the education sector also had to be adjusted to the new political, economic and social conditions. Despite major reform efforts since the early 1990s, the education systems do not as yet offer the required high-quality tuition for children and young people.

A particular problem in all five countries is the low standard of the materials used in schools, the lack of a practice-based initial and continuing training system for teachers and their poor remuneration, which results in a shortage of teaching staff. Syllabuses are strongly geared towards conveying theoretical knowledge and leave hardly any room for developing the individual aptitudes of pupils. Teaching content lacks practical relevance. The subjects taught do not sufficiently promote the social potentials of children and young people, and they are not given sufficient careers guidance. The ministries of education and education sector institutions in Central Asian countries are not adequately equipped for translating the reform objectives of national education strategies into pilot projects and innovations.

References

http://www.osce.org/cpc/39626 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTECONEVAL/Resources/EducInCentralAsia_Kyrguz_Rep.pdf

---

> Asia
> VISCED supraregions
> Countries

>> VISCED