Teaching Shortage May Worsen
Teaching Shortage May Worsen
Tougher penalties for teacher-training graduates who leave the profession within three years will only exacerbate Tajikistan’s teaching shortage, say NBCentraAsia experts.
On August 15, Education Minister Abdujabor Rahmonov announced that the government will start suing state-funded teacher training graduates who leave the profession in the first three years
Tajikistan needs some 6,000 extra classroom staff to lift its dwindling education standards but every year, thousands of new teachers change career soon after they qualify.
According to the education ministry, 4,000 teachers graduated from 10 Tajik universities and other education institutes this year, and 9,000 new students have enrolled for the upcoming academic year.
The deputy head of science at the State Institute for Languages Rustam Ahmedov has welcomed the tougher penalties, saying that just 30 per cent of graduates complete the three-year, state-subsidised teacher training course.
Each teaching student receives around 500 US dollars on average and Ahmedov feels the state cannot afford to waste money on those who fail to complete the course.
However, other NBCentralAsia analysts say that the government will only succeed in putting people off the profession altogether unless students are offered extra privileges and perks.
The deputy head of the Russian-Tajik Slavic University Rahmon Ulmasov believes that universities should retain the right to determine conditions for state-funded teacher training students, and also offer them housing, farmland and social benefits to attract people to the profession.
NBCentralAsia expert Parviz Mullodjanov agrees that new teachers need to be guaranteed extra perks to draw them into remote schools.
The tough new measures may put people off working in education altogether and those who go into teaching will still change career if the system stays the same, he says.
“It takes several years to become a good teacher, and the high turnover in secondary schools means that the problems in the quality of education cannot be solved,” he said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
On August 15, Education Minister Abdujabor Rahmonov announced that the government will start suing state-funded teacher training graduates who leave the profession in the first three years
Tajikistan needs some 6,000 extra classroom staff to lift its dwindling education standards but every year, thousands of new teachers change career soon after they qualify.
According to the education ministry, 4,000 teachers graduated from 10 Tajik universities and other education institutes this year, and 9,000 new students have enrolled for the upcoming academic year.
The deputy head of science at the State Institute for Languages Rustam Ahmedov has welcomed the tougher penalties, saying that just 30 per cent of graduates complete the three-year, state-subsidised teacher training course.
Each teaching student receives around 500 US dollars on average and Ahmedov feels the state cannot afford to waste money on those who fail to complete the course.
However, other NBCentralAsia analysts say that the government will only succeed in putting people off the profession altogether unless students are offered extra privileges and perks.
The deputy head of the Russian-Tajik Slavic University Rahmon Ulmasov believes that universities should retain the right to determine conditions for state-funded teacher training students, and also offer them housing, farmland and social benefits to attract people to the profession.
NBCentralAsia expert Parviz Mullodjanov agrees that new teachers need to be guaranteed extra perks to draw them into remote schools.
The tough new measures may put people off working in education altogether and those who go into teaching will still change career if the system stays the same, he says.
“It takes several years to become a good teacher, and the high turnover in secondary schools means that the problems in the quality of education cannot be solved,” he said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
