Shake-Up in Tajik Academia

One of the more controversial parts of forthcoming academic reforms in Tajikistan is a plan to introduce an examining commission for higher academic degrees. 

At the moment, submissions for PhDs and the like are judged and certified by Russian universities. Tajikistan is the only former Soviet state that continues using this system.

Supporters of change say it is high time Tajikistan took charge of its own affairs and allowed students to submit work written in Tajik rather than Russian.

Critics, however, point out that having a degree conferred by Moscow opens doors to the international academic community, and it is too early to be cutting that connection. In addition, it means Tajikistan attracts a lot of foreign students who know a higher degree there will carry the same weight as a Russian one.

Other elements of the reform will change the structure of the major academic institutions. Ten institutes currently operating under the Academy of Sciences are to be merged into five, and their heads will be appointed by government. 

The audio programme, in Russian and Tajik, went out on national radio stations in Tajikistan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.