Azerbaijan
Universities to Work Toward Bologna Reform Goals
A government working group has been established to develop a raft of higher education reforms after a decree was signed by President Ilham Aliyev at the end of January, according to Trend News. The reforms will be aimed at bringing higher education in Azerbaijan into line with education systems in Europe as defined by reforms being undertaken through the Bologna Process [1]. The first meeting of the working group was held at the beginning of February. Azerbaijan currently has more than 30 private and state universities.
– Trend News [2]
February 6, 2008
Kyrgyzstan
Madrassa Graduates Denied State Jobs
Graduates from the growing number of Islamic schools, known as madrassas, in Kyrgyzstan are finding that they cannot get teaching jobs in public schools because their diplomas are not recognized by the government. These students say they are being discriminated against, and are more than qualified to teach religion and ethics in state schools.
Kyrgyzstan currently has approximately 50 madrassas, seven Muslim institutes and one Islamic university – the result of a religious revival that began after this Central Asian state became independent in 1991. After being denied the right to practice their religion for the seventy years of Soviet rule and deprived of a culturally relevant curriculum, many parents are now keen for their children to have religious education and ethics classes as part of the secular school curriculum. Madrassa graduates interviewed by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting suggested that the solution might be for madrassas to introduce more general education courses into their curricula so that they are more compatible with the state system, and their graduates become more employable.
Advocates for the madrassa system say the government needs to start recognizing the diplomas so that young Krygyz students can receive religious and moral education from qualified teachers, something that is reported to be sorely lacking at most schools and universities. The Kyrgyz government shows little sign of giving into such demands and appears committed to the separation of church and state, and the need for a balanced national curriculum.
– The Institute for War and Peace Reporting [3]
January 24, 2008
Russia
Top University Ordered to Close by Kremlin
Officials in St. Petersburg have accused the government of attacking academic freedom after it closed down one of the country’s best universities in January. The European University at St Petersburg [4] was forced to cease teaching after officials claimed its historic buildings were a fire hazard.
Academics and university officials responded by saying that the order was politically motivated after a disagreement last year over a program funded by the European Commission with a US$950 million grant to improve the monitoring of Russian elections. The program was verbally attacked by President Vladamir Putin last October. He accused it of being an agent of foreign meddling. The university has close ties with universities in the UK and US. Despite its decision to close the monitoring project at the end of January, a court in St Petersburg sealed off classrooms and shut the university’s library. According to a statement on the institution’s website, the university signed a contract on Feb. 22 with the Institute of Economics and Finance to lease classroom space until the beginning of July.
The closure is a sign that the Kremlin will no longer accept criticism from academia, a sector that has been largely ignored by a Kremlin that has become increasingly authoritarian in recent years. The EC-funded project – known as the Project of Interregional Electoral Chains of Support – was launched in February 2007. Its aim was to develop and raise the effectiveness of electoral monitoring in Russia’s regions.
– The Guardian [5]
February 11, 2008
Tajikistan
Government Introduces Strict Regulation on Islamic Students
The Ministry of Education has ordered that male students at the Islamic University of Tajikistan must wear suits and ties and shave their beards, and has also vowed to introduce teacher uniforms and ban head scarves, known as hijabs. Less than a year ago, the ministry effectively banned the hijab in public schools.
The move comes as Tajik officials continue their goal of discouraging unsanctioned religious practices in the country, an effort that has included the closing and even bulldozing of “illegal” mosques. Education Minister Abdujabbar Rahmonov told an audience in the Tajik capital on January 11 that the wearing of the hijab is a “foreign culture for Tajiks.” Likewise, he added that men at the Islamic University should not wear Middle Eastern-style hats.
After announcing the enforcement of a ban on the hijab last year, Rahmonov turned up personally at universities to check whether students were obeying his order. Despite strong opposition to the hijab decree, most women eventually gave up and removed their headscarves, rather than give up their studies. Many in Tajikistan — including madrassa students — suggest that Rahmonov’s latest “dress code for religious students and teachers” will be met with compliance despite dissatisfaction with the new regulations.
– RFE/RL [6]
January 17, 2008