Turkmenistan

Basic Data
Official Country Name:	Turkmenistan
Region:	East & South Asia

Population:	4,518,268
Language(s):	Turkmen, Russian, Uzbek
Literacy Rate:	98%
Number of Primary Schools:	1,947
Compulsory Schooling:	7 years
Public Expenditure on Education:	4.3%
Educational Enrollment:	Primary: 372,170
	Higher: 76,000
Teachers:	Primary: 16,300

History & Background

Turkmenistan was known for most of its history as a loosely defined geographic region of independent tribes. Now it is a landlocked, mostly desert, nation of about 4.2 million people (the smallest population of the Central Asian republics and the second-largest landmass). The country remains quite isolated on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, largely occupied by the Qizilqum (Kyzyl Kum ) Desert. Many believe traditional tribal relationships still form a fundamental basis for Turkmen society, and telecommunications service from the outside world has only begun to have an impact. Like the Kazaks and the Kyrgyz, the Turkmen peoples were nomadic herders until the second half of the nineteenth century when the arrival of Russian settlers began to deprive them of the vast expansion needed for livestock.

Today's Turkmen territory was part of the ancient Persian Empire until the forth century B.C. when Alexander of Macedonia took over the territory. Parthians gained control after the Macedonian Empire crumbled and established their capital at Nisa. Another Persian dynasty, the Sassanids, gained control in the third century, but it was invaded in the fifth century by the Turks. Mongol invasions took place in the tenth century, and Turkmen trace their history from this time when Islam was first introduced. Seljuk Turks seized control in the eleventh century. The Mongol ruler Genghis Khan seized power in the thirteenth century. Between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, the whole region was Islamized. Mongols continued to rule until the Uzbek invasion.

The Turkmen people exercised opposition to the Czarist forces in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries but were defeated and became part of what was called the Transcaspian Region in 1885. The Bolsheviks attempted to dominate the area but met with much opposition, producing years of political disorder. This ceased in 1924 when the Red Army took control of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, and the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was established. During the next 60 years despite religious and political repression, limited advances were made under the Soviet system, especially in the health and social areas. However, Turkmenistan was a relatively neglected republic in the Soviet block. Very few investments were made in industry, and the development of the infrastructure was somewhat neglected. The under-representation of the Turkmenistan republic in the Soviet Communist party and the periodic purging of the Turkmenistan Communist party continued throughout this period. In 1985 Saparamurad Niyazov became the Turkmenistan Communist party leader, and in 1991 he became president of newly independent Turkmenistan.

In 1990 Turkmen was declared the official language of the country, and the transition from Russian to Turkmen was to be completed by January 1, 1996. However, given the ethnic diversity of the country and the lack of updated technical vocabulary in the Turkmen language, Russian is still commonly used by many people, including Turkmen, in urban areas. In May 1992, it was announced that Turkmenistan would change to a Latin based, Turkish modified script. This is the third type of script adopted by the country. In 1929 Arabic script was altered to Latin. As a result of Soviet influence, Latin script was exchanged for Cyrillic script in 1940.

During the 75 years of Soviet domination, Turkmenistan was completely dependent on the USSR for energy resources, educational materials, banking, postal services, and all major planning and administrative activities. Since declaring its independence, the Republic of Turkmenistan has been working to establish institutional and economic stability. Turkmen nationalism and a reawakening interest in Islam is slowly taking place as traditional beliefs and ways of life are being encouraged, and a new national identity is emerging after the dissolution of Communist rule. The introduction of several foreign influences after decades of isolation adds to the changing social structure of Turkmenistan.

Living Standards: Although living standards have not declined as sharply in Turkmenistan as in many other former Soviet republics, they have dropped in absolute terms for most citizens since 1991. The availability of food and consumer goods also has declined at the same time that prices have generally risen. The difference between living conditions and standards in the city and those in the villages is immense. Aside from material differences such as the prevalence of paved streets, electricity, plumbing, and natural gas in the cities, there are also many disparities in terms of culture and way of life. Thanks to the rebirth of national culture, however, the village has assumed a more prominent role in society as a valuable repository of Turkmen language and traditional culture.

Most families in Turkmenistan derive the bulk of their income from state employment of some sort. As under the Soviet system, wage differences among various types of employment are relatively small. Industry, construction, transportation, and science have offered the highest wages; health, education, and services, the lowest. Since 1990 direct employment in government administration has offered relatively high wages. Agricultural workers, especially those on collective farms, earn very low salaries, and the standard of living in rural areas is far below that in Turkmen cities, contributing to widening cultural differences between the two segments of the population.

In 1990 nearly half the population earned wages below the official poverty line, which was 100 rubles per month at that time. Only 3.4 percent of the population received more than 300 rubles a month in 1990. In the three years after the onset of inflation in 1991, real wages dropped by 47.6 percent, which caused a decline in the standard of living for most citizens.

Government & Politics: The post-Soviet government of the Republic of Turkmenistan retains many of the characteristics and the personnel of the communist regime of Soviet Turkmenistan. The government has received substantial international criticism as an authoritarian regime centering on the dominant power position of President Saparmyrat Niyazov. Nevertheless, the 1992 constitution does characterize Turkmenistan as a democracy with separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. According to a law passed in December 1992, all permanent residents of Turkmenistan are accorded citizenship unless they renounce that right in writing. Dual citizenship is held by Turkmenistan's 4,000,009 ethnic Russians. Turkmen President Saparmyrat Niyazov announced on 18 February 2001 that he would be stepping down in 2010 because after 70 "age takes its toll."

Constitutional & Legal Foundations

On May 18, 1992 Turkmenistan became the first newly independent republic in Central Asia to ratify a constitution. It is also termed a presidential republic, one that is "based on the principles of the separation of power—legislative, executive, and judicial—which operate independently, checking and balancing one another." The legal system is based on a civil law system, and suffrage beginning at age 18 is universal.

The Law of the Turkmen SR on Language (May 20, 1990) established the Turkmen language as a state language through Article 13. The law contains 36 articles dealing with rights of citizens to choose/use language, and it guarantees protection of such rights, establishing frameworks for operation of the state language in public authorities, enterprises, institutions, in spheres of education, science and culture, and administration of justice. The law also regulates use of language in names and also in the mass media. There is a special chapter for the protection of the state language. Russian is given the status of "the language of interethnical communication."

Centers of Political Power: In 1994 members of the former Communist Party of Turkmenistan continued to fill the majority of government and civic leadership posts, and much of the ideologically justified Soviet-era political structure remained intact. Besides serving as head of the Democratic Party, as the reconstituted Communist Party of Turkmenistan is called, and as chairman of the advisory People's Council and the Cabinet of Ministers, Niyazov also appoints the procurator general and other officers of the courts. Experts cite the "cult of personality" that has formed around President Niyazov. A law "Against Insulting the Dignity and Honor of the President" is in force.

At the same time, Western and Russian criticism generally has revealed misunderstandings of the social dynamics of the region that dilute the authority of such evaluations. Beneath the surface of the presidential image, political life in Turkmenistan is influenced by a combination of regional, professional, and tribal factors. Regional ties appear to be the strongest of these factors. They are evident in the opposing power bases of Ashgabat, the center of the government, and the city of Mary, which is the center of a mafia organization that controls the narcotics market and the illegal trade in a number of commodities.

Political behavior also is shaped by the "technocratic elites" who were trained in Moscow and who can rely on support from most of the educated professionals in Ashgabat and other urban areas. Most of the "elites" within the national government originate from and are supported by the intelligentsia, which also is the source of the few opposition groups in the republic. Tribal and other kinship ties rooted in genealogies play a much smaller role than presumed by analysts who view Turkmen society as "tribal" and, therefore, not politically sophisticated. Nonetheless, clan ties often are reflected in patterns of appointments and networks of power.

Educational System—Overview

According to Soviet government statistics, literacy in Turkmenistan was nearly universal in 1991. Experts considered the overall level of education to be comparable to the average for the Soviet republics. According to the 1989 census, 65.1 percent of the population aged fifteen or older had completed secondary school, compared with 45.6 percent in 1979. In the same period, the percentage of citizens who had completed a higher education rose from 6.4 percent to 8.3 percent. In 1993, approximately 92 percent of the school age population was enrolled in the school system, spending an average of 5 years in school.

Education is free of charge; although, introduction of fees is being considered by selected institutions. Formal schooling begins with kindergarten (bagcha ) and primary school (mekdep ). School attendance is compulsory through the eighth grade. At this point, students are tested and directed into technical, continuing, and discontinuing tracks. Some students graduate to the workforce after completing the tenth grade, while others leave in the ninth grade to enter a trade or technical school.

The education sector has also been undergoing major reforms as it tries to adapt to the needs of a market economy and of the next century. It is the largest branch of the social sector, employing 47 percent of workers in the social sector, and receiving 61.5 percent of state budget expenditures allocated for social and cultural measures in 1994. Turkmenistan has achieved great success in education. By 1989 the level of literacy had reached 99.6 percent, and the number of workers with higher and secondary education is growing at an increasing rate. However, a new education policy was introduced in 1993 with a view to adapting the education and training system to the future needs of the country. A similar process is under way with respect to science and technology, in order to reorient the areas of priority from away those required by the former Soviet Union toward the priorities of the new state.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 not only brought independence to the countries of the region, it also accelerated the development of new attitudes toward education. Free education and an extremely high (99 percent) literacy level were major achievements of the Central Asian countries as a part of the former Soviet Union in terms of human development. The next challenge was to maintain these achievement levels within relatively less centralized administrative structures. As soon as public education in Central Asia lost its compulsory and universal nature after 1991, internal efficiency plunged under the budgetary constraints of the transition period. It took three to four painful years for public opinion in Central Asian countries to accept that their decentralized education systems were faced with imminent collapse. The regional and local authorities that had taken over the running of the schools simply did not have the necessary human or financial resources to ensure state backing at the previous levels. This structural adjustment effectively blocked the quantitative expansion of the systems; double and triple shift systems were brought in to compensate. In order to stop the decline of internal efficiency, strong central authority was reestablished.

In Turkmenistan an education sector review process was conducted from February through July 1997. The purpose of the review was to analyze strengths and weaknesses of the system of education and training, to recommend solutions to priority problems, and to outline possible priority areas for investment. Reforms of the education system in Turkmenistan are being implemented in accordance with the National Program of New Education Policy Implementation of the President of Turkmenistan, 1993 to 1997. The report has been prepared in two parts on the education and training systems, including a detailed description of the system, explanation of recent reforms, identification of problems, and recommendations for solutions. The review covers such education sections as Basic Education, Vocational Training, and Higher Education. This report is subject to caveats that the findings and recommendations can only be tentative, subject to further elaboration, study, and change.

Although the education system in Turkmenistan retains the centralized structural framework of the Soviet system, significant modifications are underway, partly as a response to national redefinition, but mainly as a result of the government's attempts to produce a highly skilled workforce to promote Turkmenistan's participation in international commercial activities. Reforms also include cultural goals such as the writing of a new history of Turkmenistan; the training of multilingual cadres able to function in Turkmen, English, and Russian; and the implementation of alphabet reform in schools.

Turkmenistan's educational establishment is funded and administered by the state. The Ministry of Education is responsible for secondary education and oversees about 1,800 schools offering some or all of the secondary grades. Of that number, 43.5 percent are operated on one shift and 56.5 percent on two shifts (primarily in cities). Secondary schools have 66,192 teachers who serve 831,000 students. Thirty-six secondary schools specialize in topics relevant to their ministerial affiliation. The primary and secondary systems are being restructured according to Western models, including shorter curricula, more vocational training, and human resource development.

Instruction in 77 percent of primary and general schools is in Turkmen; although, the 16 percent of schools that use Russian as their primary language generally are regarded as providing a better education. Some schools also instruct in the languages of the nation's Uzbek and Kazak minorities. Especially since the adoption of Turkmen as the "state language" and English as the "second state language," the study of these two languages has gained importance in the curriculum, and adults feel pressure to learn Turkmen in special courses offered at schools or at their workplaces.

The percentage of women within the total workforce of Turkmenistan was 41.7 in 1989, reflecting a near constant since 1970 (39.5). The percentage of women within the total number of specialists in the work force who have completed middle and upper special education rose from 44.0 in 1970 to 49.4 in 1989. Workers under thirty years of age who have completed a secondary general education accounted for 66.4 percent of Turkmenistan's work force in 1989; those with middle specialized education, 16.0 percent; those with an incomplete higher education, 1.6 percent; and those with a complete higher education, 8.7 percent. Plans call for the Ministry of Labor to be replaced by a State Corporation for Specialist Training, with the bulk of the ministry's non-training functions to shift to the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Banking.

Preprimary & Primary Education

The Resolution on Transition to the New Alphabet of Turkmen Language in Educational Institutions, September 29, 1994, by the President of Turkmenistan secured the transition to the new Turkmen alphabet in primary and secondary schools beginning in the 1995-1996 academic year. The resolution obliged the Ministry of Education, the Publishing Committee, and the Ministry of Trade and Resources to arrange the preparation and publishing of textbooks in the new alphabet. It also obliged the Ministry of Education and the State Professional Training Association (Senet ) to start a gradual transition, beginning on January 1, 1996, to the new alphabet in all educational and professional training institutions, giving special attention to the preparation of respective curricula and to the appropriate training of teachers and professors. The Ministry of Economy and Finance are obliged to allocate funds for the program. The overall supervision powers over the program are given to the State organizational Committee, created to implement the program.

Secondary Education

The organization of Turkmen education does not include the concept of "secondary school" but is organized around a single nine year unit as discussed in the previous section on primary education. Workers under thirty years of age who have completed a secondary general education accounted for 66.4 percent of Turkmenistan's workforce in 1989; those with middle specialized education, 16.0 percent; those with an incomplete higher education, 1.6 percent; and those with a complete higher education, 8.7 percent.

The curriculum followed by schools is standardized, allowing little variation among the country's school districts. The prescribed humanities curriculum for the ninth and tenth grades places the heaviest emphasis on native language and literature, history, physics, mathematics, Turkmen or Russian language, chemistry, foreign language, world cultures, and physical education. A few elective subjects are available.

Higher Education

After completing school, students may continue their education at one of the dozens of specialized institutes or at Turkmenistan State University in Ashgabat. Admittance into higher education institutions often is extremely competitive, and personal connections and bribes may play a role in gaining entry and later advancement. Prospective students must pass a lengthy, pressure-packed entrance examination. Like all the other tests and evaluations in the educational system, this examination consists of both written and oral parts.

Completion of a course of study in higher institutions may take up to five years. Attempts are being made to decrease the number of years one must study so that young women may finish their higher education by their twentieth or twenty-first birthday, by which time they are expected to be married. Graduate study is an option for outstanding students at the university or in one of the Academy of Science's many research institutes.

The recently formed Council of Higher Education supervises Turkmenistan State University, the republic's eight institutes, and its two pedagogical institutes; these institutes are located in Ashgabat with the exception of a pedagogical institute in Charjew and an institute in Mary. These higher education institutions served 41,700 students in 1991, of which 8,000 were enrolled in the State University. Some institutes that train professionals for specific sectors of the national economy fall under the aegis of the relevant ministries. An education committee also functions under the president of the republic.

In March of 2001 Turkmen President Saparmyrat Niyazov harshly criticized the country's higher education system for poor professional standards and widespread bribery. Speaking at a meeting with teachers and students of the National Economy Institute in Ashgabat on 14 March, as broadcast by Turkmen TV the same day, Niyazov said:

You, our scholars, yourselves do not realize the potential of our national economy. Here I mean our national currency, its circulation in Turkmenistan and its position against other currencies. You have not carried out any serious research work or developed any theories in this field. All your present books are copied from Soviet-era articles. I myself sometimes read your articles, but they do not suit us. You are still using Soviet-era textbooks and lecture notes because you yourselves have been trained in this way.

Niyazov demanded that new Turkmen language textbooks on history and economy be published within a year, stating:

We will buy for you computers and textbooks, but we have to start publishing Turkmen national textbooks no later than at the end of this year and there should be textbooks on history and on economics. Therefore you have to set up a special group to translate them from Russian and from other European languages. There are a lot of books on economics for the young people and all of them should be translated into Turkmen. But please do not expect any privileges or reward for this work and no one should expect to be recognized the sole author of a textbook. All textbooks should be drafted by a group of authors.

Niyazov also said proper education could be a way to fight corruption:

I have come here and demand that you train good students. So far, anyone I appoint to any post, immediately starts to seek personal benefits. Such habits as stealing are usually transferred to the next generation. It always happens so that if the father is a thief, his son surely becomes the same. This cannot be seen immediately but in the long run, bad habits are always inherited.

He also warned against bribery at higher education institutions when he told his students, "Bribery is said to be practiced here; if one wants to be enrolled at an institute he must pay, to pass exams one must pay too. Do not work in such a way, you must feel your responsibility and remember that you are living at the government's expense."

Administration, Finance, & Educational Research

Plans call for the Ministry of Labor to be replaced by a State Corporation for Specialist Training, with the bulk of the ministry's non-training functions to shift to the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Banking. On January 16, 2001 the National Institute for Government Statistics and Information told Interfax that Turkmenistan had a state budget surplus of 98.6bn manat, the official currency, or 0.43 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2000. Budget revenues and spending totaled respectively 5,898bn and 5,799bn manat or 2 percent and 10 percent less than planned.

Tax revenues amounted to 5,706bn manat or 96 percent of all revenue. This included 1,687bn manat (23.5 percent) in value added tax; 1,200bn manat in contributions to government social insurance (21.3 percent); 769bn manat in excises (13.4 percent), 689bn manat in profit tax (12.07 percent); and 433bn manat in personal income tax (7.5 percent). The oil and gas industry and the consumer sector contributed respectively 50.7 percent and 30 percent of all tax revenue. Spending on social programs and public needs totaled 4,203bn manat of 72.4 percent of the total. This included 1,554bn manat on education, 814.7bn manat on health care, and 990.7bn manat on general government services. Turkmenistan's GDP measures 22,900bn manat in 2000. The official exchange rate is 5,200 manat for one dollar. Budget expenditures in education for 2001 comprised 28 percent of the budget.

Nonformal Education

The first connection from Turkmenistan to the global Internet was registered in May 1997; although, there had been some earlier irregular contact. Information Technology (IT) is regulated by the "Laws on Communication" adopted December 20, 1996. A Presidential Decree of February 24, 2000 under this law established "Provision 4584," relating to licensing activities, and gave strong powers to the Ministry of Communication. As a result a number of licenses were repealed. The state provider STC "Turkmen Telecom" has become essentially the only method of access.

It is presidential policy reflected in the "Social and Economic Reforms in Turkmenistan in the Period to 2010" decree to develop advanced IT in Turkmenistan. At present the Web site hosts per thousand is 0.004/1000, a very low participation. Internet users are listed at 0.24/1000, and the number of country domains at 0.006/1000. According to IT Forecaster research, Turkmenistan belongs to the category of Strollers—countries that face more difficulties in catching up since their populations and infrastructures constrain IT expression.

Due to a lack of infrastructure, most Internet access center activity provides access to NGOs. An Internet Access and Training Project Center is administered by IREX and is a part of the American Center. The Center provides Internet training and the use of a computer room for alumni of U.S. funded educational programs. In May of 2000 the number of Internet registered users was 1200, 40 percent of whom were private users. Over 95 percent of Internet and e-mail users are in Ashgabat.

The Turkmen-Turkish University (TTU) is the only educational structure that provides Internet access and instructs students on use of the Internet. The university has over 100 connected computers; 20 of them are for student use, 50 for use in laboratories, and 30 for the faculty. TTU enrolls 730 out of the total of 21,000 students in Turkmenistan. There are two educationally based Web sites. Of the 30 known Web sites, some of which are based internationally, 13 are in Russian, 8 in English, 7 with English and Russian and 2 in Turkmen. The major barrier to further expansion is the "last mile" problem, the lack of electrical infrastructure and equipment.

Turkmenistan joined the World Bank in September 1992. The Bank's lending program, designed to provide impetus to the implementation of critical structural reforms through the provision of technical assistance and institution building, started with an Institution Building Technical Assistance Loan (US$25 million) that was approved in 1994. The project is currently being restructured to focus on improved budget management and computerization.

Contrary to initial expectations that Turkey would play a "big brother" role in Turkmenistan's social and cultural development following independence, Turkmenistan charts its own course in such matters. An example is the adoption of a Latin script that owes little if anything to that used for Turkish. However, Turkey has played a prominent role in the development of Turkmenistan's economic potential. Turkish firms are constructing US$1 billion worth of enterprises, stores, and hotels in Turkmenistan. The Turkish Development and Cooperation Agency manages a slate of projects in agriculture, civil aviation, education, health care, minerals extraction, reconstruction of infrastructure, initiation of small enterprises, and the construction of a complex of mosques and religious schools. Turkish high schools and universities are hosting more than 2,000 Turkmenistani students, and in 1994 Turkey began daily four-hour television broadcasts to the republic.

Teaching Profession

In early 2001 President Niyazov announced a cutback of 10,000 positions in education. Some teachers of foreign language will be transferred to Language Learning Centers, which will charge tuition.

Summary

There is an enormous concern to develop adequate means for developing the region's potential in education. After an initial period of rejecting everything from the recent past and a rush to indiscriminately adopt everything foreign, the transition is gradually moving from the present centralized system to one that emphasizes national identity and diversity. Following are some of the new directions that have been adopted as new educational laws within the Central Asian countries:

1. Reducing the length of compulsory education from eleven to nine years, in order to avoid educational wastage.
2. Allowing private and other types of non-public education at all levels.
3. Gradually introducing tuition fees in higher education and various types of user fees at lower fees.
4. Discontinuing the practice of guaranteed employment for graduates.
5. Converting from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet and promoting the use of local languages for instruction.

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—Virginia Davis Nordin