School Reforms Contain Pitfalls
School Reforms Contain Pitfalls
Extending compulsory education to 12 years, with the last three years spent at a specialised college, is liable to increase the level of corruption in Uzbekistan’s education system, say NBCentralAsia observers.
The Uzmetronom.com site reports that from September this year, ninth-grade students in the capital Tashkent and other key regions will not be able to stay on at their high school, and will have to choose between studying at an vocational college or a more prestigious and academic lyceum for another three years.
The change is part of a state programme of education reforms in which compulsorary schooling is to be extended from 11 years to 12.
Uzbekistan’s 510 colleges prepare students for working life, giving them a diploma in their chosen skills area, while the country’s 80 or so lyceums prepare students for university.
NBCentralAsia analyst Tursunbay Ergashev welcomed the government programme, since it will allow pupils to make their own choices according to what they are interested in. Vocational training will provide the skills base needed when new manufacturing lines are introduced, avoiding the need to bring in foreign workers as was the case when Uzbekistan began assembling South Korean-made cars, he said.
The Uzbek government has spent a lot of money on building vocational colleges in every local district, but attendance is low as parents are unwilling to allow their children to study there, preferring that they get a job.
“There’s no difference between the old vocational schools and these new colleges,” said Botir Ruziev, a parent who is an engineer by trade. “Where is my son supposed to work after graduating? Personally I’m not going to let him go to college. It’s better if he goes out to earn a living after ninth grade than wastes his time at in college.”
Those who do go to college are not guaranteed a job at the end of it. Dono Abdulazizova, a teacher, says the state is struggling to employ all its college graduates.
“Every year thousands of students graduate from colleges and the state cannot provide jobs for all of them. I think the priority must be to develop production and solve the employment problem,” she said.
One of NBCentralAsia political observers based in Tashkent says the divide between the small number of elite lyceums and the hundreds of colleges paves the way for corruption, as parent will naturally prefer the more prestigious institution.
“Parents currently pay bribes of 600 to 800 [US] dollars to get their children into a prestigious academic lyceum – and that is while ordinary schools providing a complete secondary education still exist. Once everyone is forced to go to either a lyceum or college, the scale of the bribes will rise dramatically,” the observer said.
Human rights activist Bakhtior Hamroev agrees, citing a recent report on the education system that revealed high levels of corruption in lyceums and colleges.
“Since the lyceum entry exams were too difficult [to allow legitimate entry], many people who couldn’t afford to pay a bribe were left out in the cold,” he said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
The Uzmetronom.com site reports that from September this year, ninth-grade students in the capital Tashkent and other key regions will not be able to stay on at their high school, and will have to choose between studying at an vocational college or a more prestigious and academic lyceum for another three years.
The change is part of a state programme of education reforms in which compulsorary schooling is to be extended from 11 years to 12.
Uzbekistan’s 510 colleges prepare students for working life, giving them a diploma in their chosen skills area, while the country’s 80 or so lyceums prepare students for university.
NBCentralAsia analyst Tursunbay Ergashev welcomed the government programme, since it will allow pupils to make their own choices according to what they are interested in. Vocational training will provide the skills base needed when new manufacturing lines are introduced, avoiding the need to bring in foreign workers as was the case when Uzbekistan began assembling South Korean-made cars, he said.
The Uzbek government has spent a lot of money on building vocational colleges in every local district, but attendance is low as parents are unwilling to allow their children to study there, preferring that they get a job.
“There’s no difference between the old vocational schools and these new colleges,” said Botir Ruziev, a parent who is an engineer by trade. “Where is my son supposed to work after graduating? Personally I’m not going to let him go to college. It’s better if he goes out to earn a living after ninth grade than wastes his time at in college.”
Those who do go to college are not guaranteed a job at the end of it. Dono Abdulazizova, a teacher, says the state is struggling to employ all its college graduates.
“Every year thousands of students graduate from colleges and the state cannot provide jobs for all of them. I think the priority must be to develop production and solve the employment problem,” she said.
One of NBCentralAsia political observers based in Tashkent says the divide between the small number of elite lyceums and the hundreds of colleges paves the way for corruption, as parent will naturally prefer the more prestigious institution.
“Parents currently pay bribes of 600 to 800 [US] dollars to get their children into a prestigious academic lyceum – and that is while ordinary schools providing a complete secondary education still exist. Once everyone is forced to go to either a lyceum or college, the scale of the bribes will rise dramatically,” the observer said.
Human rights activist Bakhtior Hamroev agrees, citing a recent report on the education system that revealed high levels of corruption in lyceums and colleges.
“Since the lyceum entry exams were too difficult [to allow legitimate entry], many people who couldn’t afford to pay a bribe were left out in the cold,” he said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
