Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • Let them eat bread: Tajik university rector’s gesture to students

    No sooner is he appointed to a new post as rector of the Tajik Pedagogical (teacher training) Institute has Abdujabbor Rahmonov hit the headlines with a publicity-friendly stunt to offer oft-stereotyped hungry students free bread. Whilst there’s no denying that bread is an important part of the Central Asian diet, it doesn’t take a higher… Read more

  • Tajikistan’s government: how much longer a master of the nation?

    Recently, I wrote about the appointment of Nuriddin Saidov as the new Education Minister in Tajikistan. I wondered at the time whether there was anything underlying the move of President Rahmon’s close relative Abdujabbor Rahmonov from the Ministry to Tajik State Pedagogical University. It seems I’m not the only one who’s been thinking about this move,… Read more

  • Study abroad survey attracts more than 100 responses

    On 31 January I closed my study abroad survey for Tajik nationals and I was absolutely delighted to see that in total, I had received over 100 responses! This figure is more than double the number I had hoped for and I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU / РАХМАТ / СПАСИБО to everyone… Read more

  • Global, but not local: Tajikistan’s new Education Minister overlooks basic reform needs

    Earlier this month, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon installed a new Minister of Education: the former Rector of Tajik National University Nuriddin Saidov. (The outgoing Minister Abdujabbor Rahmonov has been appointed Rector of Aini Pedagogical University. I don’t know if there was a particular reason for the move – the only information I can find is from state… Read more

  • Students: heads you lose, tails you lose

    Are today’s students in the former Soviet Union too political or not political enough? Two recent stories from Uzbekistan and Russia suggest that either way, students will end up being criticised: you’re damned if you do care and you’re damned if you don’t. In Uzbekistan, the government has introduced a new moral code – no… Read more

  • 20 years on: human rights in the post-Soviet countries

    I’d like to recommend a great article I’ve just read, The Soviet Fall and the Arab Spring. By an experienced human rights researcher, the article provides six ideas “about what has to happen after the revolution to make change stick”. The six ideas are: 1. There is nothing inevitable about transitions to democracy 2. Guard… Read more