Regional

Central Asian Association of Universities to Be Set Up

On June 9-11, the second regional seminar on education in Central Asia was held at the International University in Bishkek. Specialists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan discussed problems of employment of university graduates and agreed to form an association of Central Asian universities in 2004, electing prominent Kyrgyz writer and diplomat Tchingiz Aitmatov as president.

— Eurasianet
June 16, 2003

Belarus

Top Minds Have No Choice But to Leave

Belarus has always had a strong record of producing top-quality scientists, who once would have worked with the Soviet defense industry or on prestigious scientific programs.

Scientists are still able to acquire highly marketable skills, though now they are valued more abroad than at home. So, locally trained mathematicians, computer programmers, electronic specialists, physicists and chemists are leaving in large numbers to work at U.S., European and Asian institutes. Now, the effects of the brain-drain have reached a point where the government is openly worried.

According to government estimates, about 70 members of the National Academy of Sciences who have a Ph.D. or higher qualification leave the country for good every year. Many of these members are young and have promising careers ahead. A recent study by the state-funded Institute of Sociology shows that close to 1,500 Ph.D.s or those with higher degrees have gone to work abroad in the past decade. Of the 17,000 still working in Belarus, 70 percent want to leave for either permanent or temporary employment overseas.

Wages are the main factor for the exodus, although other scientists maintain that the major problem is the outdated facilities and equipment available to them in Belarus. The president of the Academy of Sciences, Mikhail Myasnikovich, has his own take on the problem, stating last fall that the West should pay Belarus and its research institutions compensation for “artificial stimulation of emigration to Western countries.” Despite Myasnikovich’s view of the situation, the export of scientific knowledge looks likely to continue as long as the opportunities offered within Belarus remain limited.

— The Institute for War and Peace Reporting
May 30, 2003

Kyrgyzstan

American University Renamed

Philanthropist George Soros recently announced new support for the American University-Central Asia (AUCA), which he views as a centerpiece of efforts to expand academic freedom and freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan and the region of Central Asia.

The AUCA, formerly the American University-Kyrgyzstan (see July/August 1999 issue WENR), was officially founded in 1997 and had existed as part of the Kyrgyz State National University since 1993 as the Kyrgyz-American School. In December 2002, the university was renamed American University-Central Asia. AUCA is described as a U.S.-style liberal arts university with a “commitment to democratic values, to freedom of expression and inquiry and to academic integrity and honesty.”

Soros reached an agreement with President Askar Akaev to build the institution’s first dormitory and conference center in Bishkek, the cost of which (US$6 million) is to be shared equally by the Soros Open Society Foundation and the Kyrgyz and U.S. governments. Soros also announced the creation of a new independent Institute for the Study of Economics.

— Akipress
June 6, 2003

Russia

Indian Medical Students Beckoned by Cheap Fees

In an effort to compete with medical schools in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, Russian medical schools have recently been targeting Indian students through regional recruitment fairs and the five regional offices of the Russian Education Foundation, in a campaign to lure them with cheap fees.

Admissions to Russian universities has picked up after a six-year low following the amendment of the Indian Medical Council Act in March 2002.The act states that Indian students can seek admission to any state university in Russia listed in the directory of medical schools of the World Health Organization. Previously, only 11 universities offering bachelor of medicine/bachelor of surgery (MBBS) were recognized by the Indian government.

Fees for MBBS courses in Russia run from US$2,000 to US$3,000 depending on the institution. Only “leading” universities offer instruction in English.

— MedIndia
June 14, 2003

Admission to University to be Based on Single Entrance Exam

The Ministry of Education proposed in 2001 a plan to reform university admissions procedures and introduce a single, nationwide standardized set of exams. Education Minister Vladimir Filippov announced on June 2 that these plans are to come to fruition by 2005.

The exam will be introduced gradually, and this year school leavers will be able to apply to 15–20 different universities taking part in the experiment. Students who have won national and municipal competitions will be able to enter the university of their choice without taking the exam. Filippov stressed that the national exam is necessary for raising the objectivity of school-leaving examinations.

Previously, admissions boards from each university set their own examinations to test a student’s suitability for entry to specific departments.

— Rosbalt News Agency
June 3, 2003

Turkmenistan

New Laws Go into Effect

A rule requiring that prospective tertiary-level students must have worked for two years in their chosen field goes into effect this year, ITAR-TASS reported on July 5, quoting a statement by President Saparmurat Niazov to the Turkmen cabinet the previous day.

In recent years, Niazov has made access to higher education progressively more difficult, restricting it in 2002 to people who have been recommended by state agencies that intend to employ them after graduation and to a handful of “outstanding” students. Niazov was quoted as saying the new rule will prevent the bribery of educational officials over entrance exams. He has set up a commission of educational officials to oversee admissions to institutions of higher education. The number of admissions authorized for 2003 has risen to 3,920 from 3,480 in 2002.

— ITAR-TASS
July 5, 2003