Turkmenistan: New Curbs on Foreign Study

The Turkmen authorities are taking new steps to stop young people travelling abroad for their university education - unless they've been personally selected by the state.

Teachers who offer young people private education courses to help them gain places at colleges outside the country are now being targeted.

A recent decree dismissed all overseas diplomas as being "incompatible" with the Turkmen education system, yet the government is nonetheless happy to send its brightest students to study in countries it has a good relationship with, for example Ukraine, which buys its gas from Turkmenistan. These foreign-educated students are usually found jobs with the authorities.

Now the regime is trying to prevent school-leavers from going on to study abroad - unless officially selected and sanctioned by the state.

Local teachers who help Turkmen youngsters prepare for foreign universities have been told to stop their work or face prosecution.

The capital Ashgabat and other major cities offer several privately-run courses in subjects such as foreign languages and computer skills, which are part of the application process to study abroad. These are operated by licensed teachers who have left the state education system and are now paid a retainer by the overseas universities eager to attract bright young Turkmen students.

President Saparmurat Niazov has now declared these courses illegal, claiming that they are run by "conmen" who are trying to trick school-leavers with "false promises" of university places in other countries.

After the president condemned the courses, the authorities carried out a series of inspections, using special services personnel, to identify those teachers who were associated with foreign universities. A committee was then set up to investigate their activities.

One private teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IWPR how he had been summoned before the committee in Ashgabat and asked to explain himself.

"I did not deny that I helped school-leavers to submit applications to universities in Ukraine, in fact I brought copies of the paperwork with me, along with a copy of the Turkmen constitution and its criminal and civil codes, none of which suggest that I was doing anything wrong," he said.

"Nevertheless, they gave me a warning, and threatened to take away my license to teach. I understand that the truth is on my side in this situation, but I have since stopped helping the school leavers as I know that if I don't, I would stand a real risk of going to jail."

Observers claim that the Turkmen government looks down on the private education providers because they are not part of the official system, where those given the chance to study abroad are selected by the state.

Another ministry employee, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the authorities are particularly opposed to school-leavers studying in Russia, whose media has recently berated Ashgabat for its treatment of Turkmenistan’s Russian minority.

“This is a reaction to criticism of Turkmenistan by the Russian media. It’s a shame, as a Russian education is still considered the most prestigious among the people, and it is more or less accessible financially," he told IWPR.

"It’s sad that Moscow can’t find the courage to put our despot in his place. We are hurtling towards an abyss of ignorance, and no one wants to save us.”

One young man, who gave his name only as Merdan, is in his third year at a university in Ukraine, and because he is not among the students the authorities have approved for study abroad he has to bribe officials each time he returns to Turkmenistan for a break from his studies.

“I miss my parents, but next time I’m not sure if it’s worth the risk of returning home. I hope that by the time I graduate, this idiocy will have ended,” he said.