TURKMENISTAN: LACK OF PROGRESS IN EDUCATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000475 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB, EUR/ACE FOR FISCHER E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2019 TAGS: PGOV EAID EIND EFIN SCUL SOCI TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: LACK OF PROGRESS IN EDUCATION SECTOR MOST SERIOUS IMPEDIMENT TO PROGRESS Classified By: Charge Richard Miles, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A local economist and a member of Ashgabat's international banking community told a Eurasian Foundation of Central Asia delegation that change, while not happening as fast as some people would have liked, is taking place in Turkmenistan. The economist said that it will take decades to resolve the education gap due to the decimation of the education system, and that the Ministry of Education is still the most unprogressive of all ministries. He added that no one is in the position of overseeing draft laws at the moment in the Parliament, and the committee in charge of this is also severely understaffed. The foreign banker observed that one barrier to progress in Turkmenistan is the reticence of much of the local population, who are adverse to "rocking the boat." The Ministry of Education, which unfortunately remains steadfastly opposed to progress, currently acts as a barrier to development in the country, because the general population will change only with more progressive and improved education. END SUMMARY. CHANGES OCCURING "PERHAPS NOT AS FAST AS WE WOULD HAVE LIKED" ¶2. (C) Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia President, Jeff Erlich, and Program Officer, Aigul Tagatova, met with the Vice President of the Union of Economists, Dr. Yury Aronskiy (please protect) on April 13. Erlich explained that the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia's grant process is simplified due to Turkmenistan's unified exchange rate and free convertibility policy, and that a prime tenet of the organization is the importance of initiative and program ideas coming from local sources. Erlich said that the Foundation is interested in exploring the possibility of consulting the Union, for example in the areas of higher business education and Internet development. Aronskiy stated that changes in Turkmenistan had occurred "perhaps not as fast as we would have liked, but there have been developments,8 such as a greater openness on the part of Turkmen bureaucrats to travel and outside ideas -- with the exception of Minister of Education, "which moves slower than other agencies." (NOTE: The Minister of Education Anaamanov had planned to travel to the United States in fall 2007, but did not receive final permission from the Cabinet of Ministers to go. END NOTE.) He explained that working with other ministries that have direct responsibility for higher education institutions is easier than attempting projects with the Ministry of Education. Aronskiy stated that it would take decades to resolve the gap in education due to the closing of the Academy of Sciences, deaths of top specialists, and a brain drain. (NOTE: The Academy of Sciences has since reopened under the name of Supreme Council for Science and Technology. END NOTE.) PARLIAMENT OVERWHELMED WITH LEGISLATION PROPOSALS? ¶3. (C) Aronskiy was interested in discussing the possibility of the Foundation consulting the Union on either developing a new business school or reform of Turkmenistan's existing business schools. He also advised Erlich that the development of the Avaza Free Tourism Zone will push the government to seek assistance in the training of a work force for the tourism industry, especially the lower levels of service employees. He also mentioned that the Ministry of Tourism educates very small numbers of students every year, which will not suffice for the needs of this sector in the future. He subsequently explained that the Parliament has been slow to pass laws because there is no one in the position of overseeing draft laws at the moment. In addition, only five people sit on the committee, and three consultants assist in reviewing laws. Draft laws on economy, finance, and private enterprise include: Microfinance, Credit Unions, Leasing (of equipment),Small and Medium Enterprises, and legislation that would allow Turkmen companies to receive construction contracts, as well as ASHGABAT 00000475 002 OF 002 Gender Equality. He said that the parliament does run focus groups around the country to discuss proposed legislation. GOVERNMENT MORE PROGRESSIVE THAN THE PEOPLE ¶4. (C) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Head of Office, Neil McKain (please protect),cited in a meeting on April 13 several examples of progress in Turkmenistan: improved company registration procedures, and a simplified tax regime. McKain said that the tax regime is counteracted by some illogical laws, such as one that requires companies to pay for goods only when they reach Turkmen soil, which has spurred an entire industry of firms that create shell companies in Dubai so that they don't have to follow this rule. McKain said that Turkmenistan appears to have a genuine commitment to legislative reform. He observed that the government appears at times to be more progressive than the people. For example, although the new Constitution published in September allows political parties to register, "average people often wonder why anyone would want to rock the boat." For this reason, the President favors gradual change, to avoid instability, and McKain draws a parallel to pre-Perestroika Russia. McKain believes that it will take a generation to change things around. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: These two interlocutors frame fundamental issues confronting the country, epitomized by an overwhelmed bureaucracy that is nevertheless more willing to make progress than the rest of the population. The inflexibility of the Ministry of Education has been long acknowledged as a barrier to development, and it is one that will impede all other improvement if it is allowed to continue, since the general population will change only with more progressive and improved education. END COMMENT. MILES