ASHGABAT'S NEWEST SCHOOL: A HIGH-TECH EXTRAVAGANZA FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001012

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY),SCA/PPD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPAO ECON SCUL TX
SUBJECT: ASHGABAT'S NEWEST SCHOOL: A HIGH-TECH EXTRAVAGANZA FOR
COPS' KIDS

REF: ASHGABAT 00923

ASHGABAT 00001012 001.2 OF 002


SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Ashgabat's newest school, named in honor of President
Saparmurat Niyazov's grandfather, is a lavish facility for 800
students that includes all the modern amenities and a large computer
lab full of Dell computers, but with no internet connection. Nearby
stands a luxurious kindergarten for 160. Funded by the Office of
the Prosecutor General and built for the children of law enforcement
personnel, the luxury of the building is a testament to the
confidence -- and funds -- of its sponsoring ministry. However, the
testing process for entrance, the classes offered and the "real"
opening date of the facility remain mysteries. Part of an ongoing
vanity construction campaign to transform Ashgabat into a "white
city," the school bears the typical marks of these projects: it is
excessively expensive, visually impressive and likely destined to be
underused by just a few elite children. End Summary

A New (Elite) Type of School
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2. (U) On September 1, the first of 20 special secondary schools
and 20 kindergartens that will be built in Ashgabat under a February
2006 presidential directive (reftel) was festively opened by
President Niyazov. These schools, which are being built by each of
Turkmenistan's ministries, are destined for the children of ministry
employees. The school opened on September 1 was built by the Office
of the Prosecutor General for approximately 800 children of law
enforcement officials. The facility sits at the base of the
Kopetdag Mountains near the president's residence, in an area where
neighborhoods deemed to be eyesores have been bulldozed.

A Festive Opening
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3. (U) President Niyazov drove himself to the opening (his usual
practice),where a crowd of several hundred government
representatives, students of higher education institutions and a
group of children in miniature military uniforms greeted him with
chants of praise for the Great Leader. Scores of military and law
enforcement personnel in uniform stood in formation along the road
leading to the building. Among the ministers meeting the president
were Foreign Minister Rashit Meredov, Ashgabat Mayor and Minister of
Construction Ozmyrat Esenov, Minister of Oil and Gas Gurbanmyrat
Atayev, Minister of Energy Yusup Davudov and Deputy Chairman of the
Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Health Gurbanguly
Berdimuhammedov. Minister of Education Shemshat Annagylyjova stood
in the wings away from the president; although a school, the
facility will be administered by its sponsoring institution, the
Office of the Prosecutor General.

An Academic Potemkin Village
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4. (U) The diplomatic corps waited patiently in the morning sun for
a tour of the new building - which began in the marbled foyer
dominated by a large bust of the president, which is flanked by
busts of four ancient heroes of Turkmenistan. A Ruhnama room greets
visitors at the entrance; an additional Ruhnama classroom full of
smiling children was the first classroom stop on the tour, which
also included a music room, swimming pool (about 25 meters with four
lanes),gymnasium with basketball court where gymnasts and young
boxers were training, and an auditorium with about 300 seats.
Although Russian language, chemistry and geography classrooms, and
computer and photo laboratories were locked, guests had a glimpse
into these rooms via a promotional video screened in the auditorium.
There, the president sat in a throne-style chair in the center of
the room and occasionally made statements in Turkmen to all
assembled. The auditorium was already half-full of teenaged
exhibition students dressed in the mandatory velvet dress and
skullcap with braids for girls, and short sleeved dress shirt and
tie and skullcap for boys. However, host country representatives
did not clearly answer Emboff's questions about the nature of the
school's curriculum and instruction, or how students would be
selected.

Comment
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5. (SBU) This institution, whose construction was begun under the
ill-fated former Prosecutor-General (who since has been convicted of
corruption and is reported to have died in prison) appears to be a
concession to one ministry, to school an elite population living in
an elite area of the city. It will likely have little, if any,
positive impact on the worsening quality of education given most
children here. As such, it continues a trend of wasteful

ASHGABAT 00001012 002.2 OF 002


construction projects in the capital whose primary purpose is to
glorify the president and give substance to the official mantra that
Turkmenistan is living in its Golden Age. End Comment

BRUSH