Education - The Times Of Central Asia

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Education

Opinion: The Cultural Bridge Kyrgyzstan Needs for Global Education

The global deployment of foreign educators has emerged as a response to teacher shortages and the growing demand for high-quality education. Kyrgyzstan is no exception. On May 14, 2026, The Times of Central Asia reported that Kyrgyz lawmakers are actively exploring mechanisms to attract foreign teachers to address the country's shortage of educators. The rationale is compelling: recruiting internationally qualified teachers enables students to access global-standard education without leaving their home country, preserving social capital and mitigating the risk of brain drain. Unfortunately, policy discourse on this issue remains disproportionately focused on academic qualifications and competencies, while largely overlooking a variable of equal consequence: cross-cultural competence. Beyond Qualifications: The Cultural Dimension Even highly qualified foreign educators may encounter significant professional difficulties if they are unprepared for the cultural environment in which they teach. Consider a teacher from Indonesia entering a Kyrgyz school corridor for the first time, only to be asked by random students whether or not he is Muslim. In Indonesian professional contexts, such a question directed at a teacher would typically be regarded as inappropriate, given cultural norms favoring indirect communication and the maintenance of formal boundaries between educators and students. In Kyrgyzstan, however, the same question reflects a culturally embedded expression of warmth and social curiosity rather than disrespect. This moment of potential misinterpretation illustrates a broader challenge; foreign educators must choose between interpreting unfamiliar behaviors through their own cultural frameworks or making a deliberate effort to understand what those behaviors signify in their new context. While the former approach risks persistent misunderstanding, the latter requires cultural preparation and training that most current recruitment models do not provide. Drawing on personal experience as an Indonesian educator working in Kyrgyzstan, the contrast between the two cultural contexts becomes instructive. In Indonesia, students conventionally avoid posing direct questions about a teacher's religion or personal life, as such inquiries may be perceived as presumptuous. After sustained engagement in the Kyrgyz educational environment, however, it becomes evident that directness in social interaction is normative rather than transgressive. Students who pose seemingly personal questions are not seeking to offend; they are engaging in the relational practices through which trust and connection are established within their cultural context. Policy Recommendations for Sustainable Teacher Mobility Attracting foreign educators to Kyrgyzstan offers systemic advantages over sending domestic students abroad. It distributes the benefits of international educational exposure across the entire system, from rural schools to urban universities, without concentrating opportunity among a select demographic. It also reduces dependency on the return of overseas-trained graduates, whose repatriation remains statistically uncertain. Nevertheless, effective implementation requires a policy that extends beyond academic considerations alone. Three measures would make such recruitment more sustainable: First, pre-service cultural orientation should be made a formal prerequisite for all incoming foreign teachers. Such a program should go beyond classroom rules and address community expectations and the distinctive social role of educators in Kyrgyz society. Research on international teacher mobility consistently demonstrates that cultural preparedness is among the strongest predictors of early retention and...

Education

Kyrgyzstan Seeks Foreign Teachers to Ease Education Staff Shortage

A group of deputies in Kyrgyzstan’s Jogorku Kenesh, the national parliament, has drafted legislative amendments aimed at attracting foreign teachers and modernizing the country’s educational infrastructure through new legal and economic incentives. The proposed amendments were submitted for parliamentary consideration. Under the draft legislation, foreign teachers working in Kyrgyzstan would be exempt from income tax and mandatory social security payments. The bill would also grant foreign educators the right to obtain temporary residence permits. Additional measures include tax incentives for educational institutions and exemptions from value-added tax (VAT) on imported educational equipment. The authors of the amendments argue that modernizing Kyrgyzstan’s education system will require the introduction of international teaching standards, digital technologies, and updated educational programs. They say the process will also require the involvement of highly qualified specialists, including foreign teachers with international experience. According to the lawmakers, the proposed legislation is intended to help implement advanced teaching methods and global educational practices, improve student training, create a more competitive academic environment, and strengthen the intellectual potential of younger generations without requiring students to study abroad. The bill’s explanatory note states that a shortage of qualified teachers in schools and universities remains one of the key challenges facing Kyrgyzstan’s education system. The shortage comes as the country experiences a steady increase in student numbers and mounting pressure on educational infrastructure. According to official figures cited in the draft legislation, Kyrgyzstan had 2,175 public schools and 219 private schools in 2025, serving a total of 1,526,800 students with 108,006 teaching staff. The country also has 32 public universities and 41 private universities.

Strategic Partnership

Britain Expands Central Asia Ties as Kazakhstan Ratifies Strategic Partnership Deal

Last week, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law ratifying a strategic partnership and cooperation agreement with the United Kingdom. With that move, Central Asia’s largest economy added Britain to its growing list of strategic partners, reinforcing Astana’s long-standing multi-vector foreign policy. For London, meanwhile, the agreement marked another milestone in what some analysts have framed as a renewed contest for influence in Central Asia, an area where Britain has sought to strengthen its position over the past five years. Kazakhstan already counts Russia, China, the United States, several European Union states including Italy, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, as well as Turkey, Azerbaijan and its Central Asian neighbors among its strategic partners. Britain has now joined that group as it seeks to revive its historical influence in the region. That broader contest is often described through the language of a “New Great Game,” a phrase that draws on an older imperial rivalry. The term “Great Game” emerged in the 19th century to describe the geopolitical rivalry between the British and Russian Empires across Central and South Asia. The phrase was popularized by British officer, spy, and diplomat Arthur Conolly, who compared the complex web of political intrigues to a vast strategic board game stretching across half a continent. Since 2022, observers say London has intensified its engagement in this geopolitical competition, aimed partly at limiting Russian and Chinese dominance in Central Asia. At stake are key sectors such as critical minerals, including rare earths, as well as logistics corridors, particularly the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor. In December 2023, the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee published a report titled Countries at the Crossroads: UK Engagement in Central Asia. The report criticized what it described as ineffective engagement by British ministers with the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. One of the report’s central recommendations was that London should more actively counter Russian influence in the region. In recent years, British embassies across Central Asia have established offices linked to the UK’s international development structures, expanding engagement with local civil society groups. Through the British Council, London has also expanded its soft power initiatives, financing programs such as Creative Central Asia and Creative Spark. More than 60 universities have joined these programs, with participation exceeding 65,000 people. Britain also continues to operate the Chevening scholarship program, under which young political and public sector figures from Central Asia study in the UK before often returning to influential positions in their home countries. For Kazakhstan’s ambitious younger generation, Britain’s appeal may also be reinforced by symbolic success stories. On May 8, the same day Tokayev signed the strategic partnership into law, Kazakhstan-born Sanjar Abishev was elected to Westminster City Council, representing London’s prestigious St James’s district. Abishev’s election drew attention in Kazakhstan as a symbolic example of the country’s growing diaspora presence in Britain. Little is publicly known about Abishev, though one detail stands out: he entered politics only in 2022 after previously running a...

TCA Interviews

Identity and a New National Canon: Interview with Kazakhstan Historian Zhaxylyk Sabitov

Interest in Kazakhstan’s history is increasingly moving beyond academic circles. For many people, it has become a way to understand the country’s modern identity as well as its past. The Times of Central Asia spoke with historian Zhaxylyk Sabitov, director of the Institute for the Study of the Ulus of Jochi, about why many chapters of Kazakhstan’s history remain insufficiently studied. The Ulus of Jochi, also known as the Golden Horde, was one of the largest medieval states in Eurasia and is closely tied to debates over Kazakhstan’s statehood and historical memory. The interview also explored which topics resonate most strongly with society today and how a new understanding of national memory is taking shape. TCA: To begin, please tell us a little about yourself. How did you become interested in history, and why did you decide to work in this field? Zhaxylyk: I am the director of the Research Institute for the Study of the Jochi Ulus. My interest in history began in childhood. The problem was that in the 1980s and 1990s, history in Kazakhstan was taught rather poorly. There were few textbooks and teaching materials, and schoolchildren generally knew little about the subject. That is why I was always interested in trying to understand the past for myself. In addition, I inherited a library of history books from my grandfather. I read those books, and in the 1990s my mother helped me buy new publications. All of this gradually shaped my interest in the history of Kazakhstan. You could say I became interested in history while still at school and later continued to study it professionally. TCA: For readers who may not know much about you, how would you describe your research work and the main topics you focus on? Zhaxylyk: I have several main areas of work. The first is the history of the Golden Horde. This was the state that preceded the Kazakh Khanate and occupied a vast territory stretching from the Altai to the Danube. The second area is the history of the Kazakh Khanate. This also remains insufficiently studied. In the history of both the Golden Horde and the Kazakh Khanate, there were more than 100 khans. It is interesting to study how they interacted, where and how they ruled, and under what circumstances their rule took place. The third area is genetics, or the genetic history of Kazakh tribes and clans, as well as those of other Turkic peoples, including Kyrgyz, Karakalpaks, Nogais, and Bashkirs. This topic allows us to address questions that have been debated for two centuries. For example, there are many theories regarding the origins of certain Kazakh tribes. With the help of genetics, we are trying to understand which of these theories is closer to the truth and, more broadly, to better understand the ethnogenesis of the Kazakhs and other Turkic peoples. The fourth topic is nation-building policy and historical memory. I am interested in how the state constructs the canon of national history and how this influences...

parental responsibility

Turkmenistan Introduces New Fines for Parents Over Children’s Misconduct

Turkmenistan has introduced new rules that tighten parental responsibility for children’s misconduct, while reports suggest that additional unofficial requirements are already emerging at the local level. The amendments to the administrative code, signed by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, came into force on May 1. The updated legislation increases penalties for what is defined as “improper upbringing” and expands the range of situations in which parents of children under 16 can be held liable. In several cases, warnings have been eliminated entirely. Under the new rules, offenses such as drug use without a prescription or minor hooliganism now result in immediate fines of around $29. Penalties for traffic violations have risen from $11.6 to $14.5. The manufacture or possession of pyrotechnics can lead to fines ranging from $58 to $145, while smoking carries penalties of $29 to $58. Other sanctions have also been increased, including those related to alcohol and tobacco sales and various administrative violations. However, the implementation of the law appears to vary across regions. According to local sources, some authorities are interpreting the rules more broadly and introducing additional measures. In schools in the Lebap region, for example, there are reports of proposed fines for families if students arrive late to class ($29), possess smartphones or headphones ($290), or skip lessons. These measures have not been officially confirmed, and teachers in other regions say they have not received similar instructions. Some observers suggest the reports may be exaggerated or intended as a deterrent to improve discipline. Nevertheless, educators warn of potential corruption risks. Recorded violations could become grounds for informal payments, with smaller sums demanded instead of official fines, bypassing the state budget.

Education

School Digitalization in Turkmenistan Increases Workload for Teachers

The rollout of electronic gradebooks in Turkmenistan, intended to streamline teachers’ work, has had the opposite effect, with educators reporting increased workloads, technical issues, and tighter oversight. As part of a broader push toward digitalization, authorities have required school staff to use the eMekdep system to record grades, manage lesson plans, and generate analytics. According to its developers, the platform enables work “anytime, anywhere” and is designed to reduce paperwork. Teachers, however, say the reality is far less efficient. Electronic journals can only be filled out with a stable internet connection, which remains unreliable even in the capital. “If two people log into our school’s network at the same time, it crashes,” a teacher in Ashgabat said. As a result, many educators are forced to rely on mobile data or home internet at their own expense, an added burden given their relatively low salaries, which range from $175 to $275 per month. Teachers also report contributing financially to school needs, including repairs and equipment, and, in some regions, even covering costs related to hiring cotton pickers. The main challenge, however, is not financial but administrative. Paper gradebooks have not been phased out, leaving teachers to maintain three parallel records: an official paper journal, a working notebook, and the electronic system. This duplication significantly increases the risk of errors. To save data, many teachers first record grades by hand and later transfer them into the system at home, a process that often leads to delays and inaccuracies. Given that the majority of teachers are women, many must also balance these demands with family responsibilities. At the same time, oversight has intensified. Moderators at both school and district levels monitor how teachers fill out gradebooks. Discrepancies between paper and electronic records require written explanations. Deadlines for entering data have also been tightened from up to 10 days previously to just two days, with the possibility of further reduction to 12 hours. Schools may be reprimanded if teachers fail to meet these deadlines. Technical problems remain a major issue. Users report software bugs that can cause pages to take up to 30 seconds to load. “In that time, it’s faster to mark grades for an entire class with a pen,” one teacher noted. Earlier reports have highlighted broader restrictions on access to certain services and efforts to control alternative communication channels, including the confiscation of Starlink satellite internet equipment. In such conditions, digital solutions remain heavily dependent on infrastructure that often struggles to handle the load.