03 June 2004 22:37
Turkmenistan`s decision to fire all state employees with foreign diplomas viewed
In line with an order from the Turkmen authorities, diplomas issued by foreign higher educational institutions after
1993 are not valid in Turkmenistan any more, an article in the Russian newspaper Izvestiya on 2 June says. The Turkmen
opposition said that the move was aimed at clearing the country of dissidents. The following is the text of report by
Yevgeniy Shestakov: "Turkmenbasy No Longer Recognizes Russian and Foreign Diplomas", published by Russian
newspaper Izvestiya on 2 June; subhead inserted editorially:
>From now on graduates of Russian higher educational institutions will not be able to practice their trained
professions in Turkmenistan. Order No 126 that entered into force in that country on 1 June invalidated the diplomas
issued by foreign higher educational institutions after 1993. The holders of such certificates will be automatically
dismissed from state service. Experts believe that large-scale cuts are expected in the fields of health care and
education and in law enforcement organs.
The Turkmen Ministry of Education admitted that it had known about the drafting of the order long in advance: From
the beginning of the year functionaries collected information about the diplomas of state employees in the archives.
However, the final decision on the "professional ban" imposed on graduates of foreign institutions of higher
education was made following the "purges" conducted by Turkmen President Saparmyrat Nyyazow (a 1967 graduate
of the Leningrad Polytechnical Institute) in the Ministry of Education.
The minister and his two deputies lost their jobs "for serious shortcomings in work." According to the
official version, "the leaders failed to ensure the required depth, consistency, and honesty of reform."
According to an unofficial theory, the functionaries displayed insufficient zeal in fulfilling Nyyazow's directives
to destroy the existing education system. All the indications are that their successors decided to avoid the same
mistakes.
Dismissal of people with "wrong" diplomas
Most people with the "wrong" (meaning, non-Turkmen) diplomas have already received dismissal orders. The
text is standard: "Your diploma is invalid. You are dismissed from your post as of 1 June. To be able to practice
your profession in the future you should approach the district educational administration."
Managers of state-run enterprises demand that their former employees make a written commitment not to challenge the
decision. Those who refuse are fired based on a [Labour Code] article that makes their further employment in
Turkmenistan impossible. The head of state attributes these steps to the "intention to increase the professional
level of state employees" in a situation where "a lot of commercial institutions of higher learning with a low
educational level" exist in the CIS countries. Admittedly, the most renowned Russian and foreign educational
institutions are also listed among them for some reason. Turkmen opposition members living in foreign countries assert
that "the head of state is trying to finally cleanse the country of dissidents" and at the same time to vacate
posts for graduates of Turkmen "two-year" higher educational institutions.
All the indications are that Nyyazow had dreamed for a long time about "teaching a lesson" to unpatriotic
parents who send their children to study abroad. For this purpose standard 10-year schooling was replaced with nine-year
schooling several years ago. After this decision the CIS countries refused to recognize Turkmen school certificates.
Somewhat later banks were prohibited from converting money (based on the official exchange rate) transferred to Turkmen
students in foreign countries, as a result of which around 7,000 Turkmens studying in higher educational institutions
abroad were left without means of existence and had to return to their country. Last year, the first "warning
message" was sent out to those who remained abroad: Turkmenbasy ordered to fire specialists who had acquired
secondary special education beyond the republic's borders.
The new "labour reform" will obviously vacate jobs in state institutions for "national staff" -
tested and unconditionally loyal to the president. Any secondary school graduate who wants to enter a higher educational
institution in Turkmenistan has to complete army service or perform "useful public work" for several years.
However, as few as 4,000 persons with impeccable biographies have the right to become students every year (their number
is 10 times smaller than in Soviet times). In addition to this the state sends around 300 high school graduates to
Turkish educational institutions. Turkmenistan does recognize diplomas issued in Turkey, which is not the case with
Russian diplomas.
"Long ago, Moscow proposed to Ashgabat that an agreement be concluded on mutual recognition of higher education
diplomas," Aleksandr Yakovenko of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the recent developments.
However, according to him, "the Turkmen side has been considering this issue for several years now."
[Izvestiya] |
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