The crisis of public education in Dushambe

Many teachers leave their school jobs while Tajik students try by all means to continue their studies abroad, in Russia or in Western countries. A problem made worse by the authoritarianism and rigidity of Tajik society.

Dushambe (AsiaNews) - The education system in Tajikistan is going through a moment of serious difficulty, with many teachers leaving their school jobs, and Tajik students trying in every way to continue their studies abroad, in Russia or better yet in Western countries.

The teaching staff is unable to face the challenge of adequate training, in the face of completely insufficient funding, with absolutely inadequate salaries.

The young professor Abel Polese, scientific collaborator of the faculty of social and humanitarian sciences at Dublin City University, interviewed by Radio Ozody, dedicated research to this problem after having studied the situation directly in Tajikistan.

The fact that the expectations of underpaid teachers and professors in the country are more demanding than even at Harvard, and to obtain tenure they are forced to publish a long series of articles in scientific journals further complicating matters.

According to Polese, "the Tajik state is evidently trying to raise the quality level of its training system, when first-year 'aspirants' (new graduates) are asked for at least three articles in one of the newspapers included in the Scopus database, which they perhaps don't even know what it is."

Faced with these high demands there are no "real stimuli", and teachers immediately become discouraged, unable to obtain prestigious and sufficiently remunerated positions. “Perhaps it is also due to the dependence on the judgments of social media, everyone wants to earn and make a name for themselves as quickly as possible, we are all addicted to TikTok,” adds the academic.

Students who manage to reach Europe or the United States often find themselves in difficulty, due to the very low level of their basic preparation. Education systems, moreover, vary greatly from country to country, and Tajik children are absolutely not prepared to adapt to what they find in front of them.

Polese observes that "for example, students in American schools are not very good at exact sciences, compared to Soviet-Tajik education, but they have a highly developed critical sense, they are capable of asking questions on every subject, even on their own opinions, something that no one teaches Tajiks."

Furthermore, it is not enough to reach prestigious places for training, you still need available capital to reach good levels and hope for a scholastic or academic career. There are scholarships, awarded under the responsibility of various structures, but "good relationships with colleagues and the entire academic community are often needed, even before money", explains the Dublin researcher.

Logistical and material, but also social and human stability is needed to truly enter the world of higher education in any country.

Speaking with various students and teachers in various areas of Tajikistan, Polese understands that "the challenge of education also depends greatly on personal characteristics, the place of residence and the institution of origin, as teachers from the National University especially told me ”.

Many have asked their colleague to act as an intermediary to establish links with the various European universities, not only to find funding and grants, but precisely to connect with people in the various scientific sectors of interest, or to understand the mechanisms of an academic career in different locations.

Recalling again the question of the "critical sense", Abel Polese insists on the fact that "there is no need to impose too high standards of scientificity in the various subjects, what is needed is rather greater dialogue between science, education and society". A difficult task at any latitude, and particularly complicated in a rigid and authoritarian society like Tajikistan.