Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher Education in Central Asia Blog (est. 2011)

  • Migration to Russia from the Pamirs/GBAO, Tajikistan

    Thanks to the Central Asia Program at George Washington University in the US for promoting many of its recent briefing notes via Twitter – it has made for some excellent reading! Two articles in particular caught my eye – one called From Pamirs to the Outside World: Seeking Decent Jobs by Kavikas Kuhistoni which was published in August 2014 (see… Read more

  • Quantity not quality in Kyrgyz universities

    The ever reliable EurasiaNet had a nice piece recently on the growth of ‘inferior’ universities in Kyrgyzstan. There’s not been any recent news on higher education in the country so the report is able to take a longer term and slightly more analytical perspective. Some of the facts that are used appear to be lifted… Read more

  • Challenges in contemporary higher education in Kyrgyzstan – published

    Further to my post last month, I’m delighted to announce that my article, Challenges in contemporary higher education in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia has been published online in the peer-reviewed journal Perspectives: policy and practice in higher education. A link to read the article can be found below and on my Academia.edu profile. Challenges in contemporary higher education in Kyrgyzstan, Central… Read more

  • School education in Central Asia – the four challenges for 2015

    In this round up of education news from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan at the start of 2015, a number of paradoxes emerge, none of which lend themselves to quick or easy solutions. Here are the four issues that I think will be on the agenda for education in the region this year: 1. Reform needed, but at whose cost?… Read more

  • Challenges in contemporary higher education in Kyrgyzstan – article coming soon

    I’m pleased to report that my article ‘Challenges in contemporary higher education in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia’ has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Perspectives: policy and practice in higher education! The article builds on the interviews I undertook in summer 2014 with senior university managers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, thanks to funding from the Joan Balchin Memorial… Read more

  • Steps towards gender equality in Kyrgyzstan

    Happy new year / S novim godom / Soli nav muborak to you all! Kickstarting this year’s set of posts is a report from Kyrgyzstan on steps being taken – primarily by the government and a small but growing number of local NGOs – to bring greater equality to the country. The article can be… Read more