Education - The Times Of Central Asia

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Uzbekistan’s Schoolchildren to Sit International PISA Tests

In 2025, Uzbekistan, with the support of the World Bank, will participate in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with pilot testing starting this May. PISA testing assesses the ability of students from more than 80 countries in their knowledge and skills in reading, math and science. When allocating funding for PISA testing in 2019, World Bank experts noted the acute shortage of teachers and their low qualifications and in addition, the absence of means to assess both the quality of preschool education and a comfortable environment for learning. "Investing in children's early education is one of the most effective ways to develop human capital, which in turn will stimulate economic growth in the country," Hideki Mori, the head of the World Bank's representative office in Uzbekistan, said at the time. Last year's test results placed Uzbek schoolchildren in the bottom ten of the 80 participant countries. The cause indicated significant problems within the domestic education system and subsequent data revealed a direct correlation between test results and families' socioeconomic status. To address the issue, officials plan to allocate more than $3.7 billion for schools and school education curricula this year.

Education Small Business Economy Central Asia Kazakhstan EBRD

EBRD Launches New Training Program for Female Entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) Women in Microbusiness training program is being launched in Kazakhstan to support women entrepreneurs facing social or economic obstacles in their business activities. Statistics show that whilst women manage 49 percent of all micro and small-sized businesses in Kazakhstan, their representation in medium and large business sectors is only 36 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Reporting on the initiative, Alma Kasymova, head of the EBRD's SME (small- and medium-sized enterprises) Program in Kazakhstan, stated, "Our main goal and mission is to empower women entrepreneurs to grow and develop their micro-enterprises through affordable and quality training. We are confident that this program will help participants to expand their competencies and open new perspectives in larger business segments." The training, conducted online in Kazakh and Russian, will run for five months and comprise six business modules in marketing, sales, finance, human resources, operational management, strategic planning, as well as automation and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Participants will be able to enrol at any time convenient for them. . Welcoming its launch, an EBRD spokesperson announced, "This is the third implementation of the program -realized in collaboration with the training and consulting company Dialog . Previous projects allowed almost 1,500 women entrepreneurs to strengthen their skills and improve their businesses. "

Internet Social Economy Central Asia Kazakhstan Education

Satellite Internet Connection to Start Working in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Digital Development says that work has been completed on an interface station for the OneWeb non-geostationary communication network at the Kokterek Space Services Center. Officials expect to achieve technical readiness to provide commercial services this year. Work is also continuing on infrastructure at the Spacecraft Assembly and Test Complex in Astana. A project to build a constellation of medium-resolution satellites for remote sensing of the Earth has also been launched, with plans to replace the current KazEOSat-2. This new equipment will be used in various fields, including agriculture, emergency management and sustainable use of natural resources. EutelSat OneWeb is a unit of the EutelSat Group that provides broadband internet access using low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. It was founded in 2012. At different times, Airbus, Qualcomm, Virgin Group and others have acted as investors in the company. In the spring of 2020, OneWeb filed for bankruptcy because it failed to agree with Japan's Softbank on a round of financing totaling $2 billion. Later, the company was saved by the British government, India's Bharti Global and EutelSat, before the latter company merged with OneWeb in September of 2023. It has been reported that villages in Kazakhstan have gained access to satellite internet from Starlink, one of Elon Musk's companies. Over 170 rural settlements are connected to the KazSat network, which provides broadband access to more than 17,000 people. The initiator of the joint project, minister of digital development Bagdat Musin, was fired on April 30 amid a scandal involving the leak of personal data of Kazakh citizens.

Panjakent AFCP US aid UNESCO Education Tajikistan Tourism Archaeology Cultural Heritage

US Embassy Boosts Preservation of Tajikistan’s Ancient City

On April 26, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan Manuel P. Micaller, Jr. attended the celebration of the restoration of the Silk Road’s ancient city of Panjakent. Located in Tajikistan’s Sughd region and dating back to the 5th century, it is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Financed by the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) program, the U.S. Embassy awarded a grant of $186,766 to the Public Organization Javononi Peshsaf for the preservation and restoration of four of Panjakent’s key archaeological structures: the Zoroastrian temple, and corner tower-defensive wall, both constructed between the 5th-8th centuries; the defensive wall, dating back to the early fifth century, and the ceremonial hall Rustamiada, built between the 7th-8th centuries. The ancient Panjakent archeological site project, implemented by Javononi Peshsaf, in close cooperation with local authorities and the Archeological Base of Panjakent and Sarazm, offers significant potential to increasing international tourism and academic interest, and in the words of the ambassador, “boost local economy and improve the prosperity of the Tajik people.” The site which illustrates the history of Sogdians, provides a unique and rare insight into life in Central Asia during the fifth to eighth centuries. After years of being buffered by the elements, the site once carefully restored with traditional materials, including mud bricks and mortar and clay plaster, is now being preserved for generations to come. In his address, Ambassador Micaller stated, “I am honoured and proud to celebrate our partnership to preserve the ancient city of Panjakent. For the U.S. Embassy, supporting the restoration of this ancient Silk Road city is one of the most meaningful ways we can express our respect for, and appreciation of, Tajikistan’s rich history and culture.”

Kyrgyzstan Education Security Healthcare Legislation Social

300 Children Killed on Kyrgyzstan’s Roads

The Director of the Situation Centre of the Kyrgyz Republic, Joldoshbek Mambetaliyev, has issued a harrowing report that since 2021, more than 2,000 people including 316 children, have been killed on roads in Kyrgyzstan. Research by the centre cites the prime causes as poor road surfaces, insufficient lighting, lack of road signs and parapets, alongside non-compliance with speed limits and dangerous driving. Mambetaliyev also stressed that lack of knowledge and non- adherence to traffic rules amongst drivers were major contributing factors given that over a third of accidents were caused by overtaking, violating crosswalk rules, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving under the influence of alcohol. More than 20 percent of accidents were caused by speeding. The Situation Centre recommended that in order to reduce the number of road accidents, the government must collaborate with local authorities to develop a safer and more comprehensive infrastructure. Mambetaliyev concluded, "Road safety depends directly on the responsible behaviour of all road users... It is important to conduct awareness-raising activities among the population to reduce accidents on the roads." Kyrgyzstan's Situation Centre currently monitors key events and incidents on roads throughout the country in real time, followed by in-depth analyses.

Kazakhstan Education Starlink internet

Starlink Broadband Reaches More Schools in Kazakhstan

The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan has announced that a further 250 Starlink terminals have been sent to rural schools in three of the country’s regions. Akmola received 138 terminals; Zhambyl, 53, and Zhetysu, 55. Starlink terminals have also been installed in 48 schools in flood-hit regions to ensure uninterrupted education and today, 502 rural schools across the country, have access to an average Internet speed of 200 Mbit/s. The provision of high-speed Internet and the development of digital projects in rural schools is a long-standing priority and last week, to progress the initiative, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Bagdat Musin met representatives of SpaceX to discuss its expansion of Starlink technology throughout Kazakhstan.