Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • Stocks and shares but not for sale – More reorganization in Kazakhstan’s universities

    The Kazakh government has typically paid a very active role in the organization and governance of higher education in the country. Over time the particular policy instruments du jour have changed depending on the main aim being pursued by the state. Of late, there has been an uptick in the number of university mergers as well as the… Read more

  • Uzbekistan: A breathtaking shift from autocracy to an open HE system

    My latest piece for University World News, a global online publication for anyone with a passing interest in higher education, was published on October 19. I wanted to bring UWN’s readership up to date with recent developments in Uzbekistan, which have been taking place at breakneck speed over the past couple of years. Please find… Read more

  • Supporting female students in Tajikistan

    Female students in Tajikistan are to get a boost from the new Intellect centre at Khorog State University. Opened with a US$40k grant from the World Bank/Ministry of Education, the centre aims to support women’s learning by improving their living and studying conditions as well as their academic preparation. Female students from all regions of Tajikistan living… Read more

  • Tashkent’s ‘most corrupt university’ has a new boss

    Tashkent’s ‘most corrupt university’ has a new boss

    Several weeks after news broke that the head of Tashkent’s ‘most corrupt university’ had been fired, a new appointee has taken up the mantle. Tashkent State University of Law (TSUL)’s Rector Yesemurat Kanyazov was fired not just from his university leadership position but also from his other job as Deputy Minister of Justice. The official… Read more

  • Recommended article – “Educational research in Central Asia: methodological and ethical dilemmas in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan” by Dilrabo Jonbekova

    Published in well rated peer-reviewed journal Compare, Dilrabo Jonbekova’s 2018 article examines the challenges and opportunities open to researchers of Central Asia, studying both ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ researcher perspectives (and the blurring of the lines between these two groups). Jonbekova, a faculty member at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, is well placed for a study like this,… Read more

  • Most popular degrees in Tajikistan

    The results of this year’s university admission testing in Tajikistan (which, like in many other former Soviet countries, is now centralized) are now in. Over 100,000 higher education hopefuls took entrance exams in 2019, most for entrance to university. Around 10% were seeking admission to college i.e. the final two years of secondary education (usually… Read more