OREANDA-NEWS. January 12, 2010. Implementation of the large-scale education reforms initiated by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is the number one aspect in the public life of Turkmenistan. Education is a key factor that determines the future of the country, the spiritual, social, economic and cultural progress of the society, the Turkmen leader, through whose efforts the unique building of the national education system is being constructed today, says. The best international practice, the age-old spiritual values and traditions people, the rich historical and cultural heritage of the Turkmen are laid in the foundation of this building.

An innovative model of development chosen by Turkmenistan requires high professionalism from specialists in all spheres and industries, steady enhancement of the research potential, i.e. upbringing new generations of Turkmen intellectuals, highly-qualified specialists, who are erudite, creatively thinking and easily orienting in scientific and technological advances. Therefore, the attention paid by the President attention to bringing Turkmen science and education up to the world level and creating the conditions conducive to integrated development and broadening young people’s outlook is so significant.

The education reform has become a top priority of the policy of the Turkmen state, a sphere of integration of the national interests and the interests of every citizen, an ultimate condition for accelerating the pace of social and economic development of the country, the cultural and spiritual development of the Turkmen society. Today, it is the fertile land for the investors, who identify the promising areas for investments, as well as the strategists, who develop the plans of further building the state, the personnel resources and intellectual content.

As is known, the concrete steps towards these goals included increasing the admittance to the higher and specialized educational establishments, opening the new faculties for demand-driven skills training, construction of new universities, schools and kindergartens throughout the country. Each of these institutions whether it is in urban or rural areas is equipped with computers and connected to the Internet.

Comprehensive integration in the global progress requires establishment of the appropriate material and technical base along with adoption of advanced information and communication technologies in all spheres and sectors. Thus, modernization of the education system has a ‘virtual’ as well as ‘architectural’ dimension. In other words, an integrated approach to fulfilling the tasks set to national science and education is practically embodied in the architectural projects that vividly, monumentally reflect the priorities and trends in the ongoing social and economic changes in the country.

Intensification of international educational relations is of particular importance. Figuratively speaking, this is ‘an intellectual diplomacy’ promoting mutual enrichment of cultures, exchange of knowledge, technologies, intellectual and creative resources and, therefore, development of international relations, construction of the strong bridges of friendship and cooperation between different countries and nations.

The new Law of Turkmenistan “On Education” came into force in August 2009. This law is the call of the times and the grandiose tasks set by the President of Turkmenistan to the Turkmen society in the third millennium. This document sets forth the principles of the national policy in the sphere of education that laid the foundation for the further reforms and effective development and specified various aspects of educational process.

The best for children

On April 26-May 2, 2009, Ashgabat welcomed numerous guests from all over the world – the participants of the 43rd Mendeleyev International Chemistry Olympiad. The prestigious intellectual forum aimed at developing the scientific and creative potential of youth brought together the senior pupils from the CIS countries, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, the Baltic States – the future elite of the world’s chemical science and leading scientists, university professors, school teachers from different countries, postgraduate students and students – the winners of the Mendeleyev Olympiad in the previous years on the Turkmen land.

These intellectual contests become for many children a serious test in their theoretical and practical knowledge as well as the first meeting with Turkmenistan, its ancient culture and rich spiritual traditions. The organizers created all necessary conditions so that the schoolchildren could work, study, recreate and spend leisure time interestingly. The Altyn Summul Centre, one of the health-improving children’s centers in Geokdere settlement, was given to the ‘Olympic competitors’ in full possession.

The forum programme included the concerts, excursions to the museums, visits to the landmarks of Ashgabat, sporting and intellectual competitions, exhibitions and meetings with peers. The guests had the bright, unforgettable impressions of Turkmenistan where they had had a good time and found new friends – the country where children were the most privileged layer of the society and lavished with love and care.

It should be noted that the young citizens of Turkmenistan represented our country several times at the Mendeleyev Olympiad and won the prizes of the World Chemistry Olympiad, the Project Olympiad, the International School Olympiad in natural sciences, humanities and applied sciences and other intellectual contests. The Turkmen schoolchildren won one gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the Mendeleyev Olympiad in Ashgabat. In 2009, the Turkmen students from various schools brought a total of 12 ‘Olympic’ medals from Germany, Great Britain and Romania.

The Turkmen youth’s achievements are the achievements of the country that has entered the epoch of great Revival. Nowadays, young citizens of Turkmenistan have the vast opportunities to receive education, choose future professions and develop their talents and skills. The school equipped with advanced multimedia and information technologies and ‘fairytale towns’ – kindergartens are constructed for them throughout the country.

In the 2009-2010 academic year hundreds of children will study at the new schools that opened the doors in Ashgabat, Balkanabat, Turkmenabat, Yzgant settlement of Geoktepe Etrap, Ahal Velayat that is named after the President’s grandfather Berdimuhamed Annayev, a village teacher, who devoted his life to education. The similar schools and kindergartens were opened in the other regions of the country.

Another remarkable event is the opening of the new building of joint A.S. Pushkin Turkmen-Russian School in Ashgabat. The leaders of Turkmenistan and Russia attended the opening ceremony. The epoch of great Revival when primary attention is paid to intellectual development of the nation has opened up the vast opportunities to develop international relations in the educational sphere.

An integral part of the education reform is publication of high-quality educational aids and textbooks. Over 60 titles of textbooks and learning aids for schoolchildren were published in 2009. A major part of the books were published for the first time.

Popularizing physical culture and sports and bringing up a healthy, spiritually strong young generation is an essential aspect of the education policy initiated by the Turkmen leader. As an ardent supporter of a healthy lifestyle President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov – Chairman of the National Olympic Committee, who received the Order of Honor – the highest award of the Asia Olympic Council in 2009, the sixth dan black belt of the World Karate Federation, sets a good personal example to Turkmen youth. The Turkmen leader – a well-experienced sportsman demonstrates an excellent physical shape when he is flying by MiG-29, driving the KAMAZ truck in Tatarstan and the Mitsubishi Evolution 10 race car along the Mary-Turkmenabat highway to test it before the Silk Road-2009 International Rally Raid that run across the territories of Turkmenistan, Russia and Kazakhstan.

The sports and Olympic movement gains to scale in the country, young athletes upholding the honour of Turkmenistan on the international sport arena increase in number. Large-scale construction of the stadiums and water sports complexes has been launched in all regions of the country. The Olympic Village and the Winter Palace of Sports will be opened in Ashgabat in the near future. The excellent conditions for active recreation are created at the luxury sanatoriums on the Caspian seashore in the Avaza national tourism zone and the comfortable health-improving centre in the picturesque Geokdere settlement buried in verdure. There are nine centres in Geokdere, three of which were opened last year.

Higher education: complying with world standards

The buildings of the higher educational institutions under construction in Turkmenistan are to fulfill the most important task – to train highly qualified specialists for all spheres and sectors.

The new buildings of the Turkmen State Institute of Transport and Communications, the Police Academy under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Military Academy were opened in Ashgabat in 2009. The students started to study at the Ashgabat branch of I. M. Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas. In the near future the new buildings of the Polytechnic Institute, the Turkmen State Medical Institute that will gain the university status, one more building of Magtymguly Turkmen State University and the building of the Turkmen State Institute of Culture will be opened in Ashgabat, the Energy Institute – in Mary and the Agricultural Institute – in Dashoguz.

The ceremony to honour the first graduates was held at the Institute of International Relations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The active foreign policy initiated by the Turkmen leader provides for the establishment of the national school of diplomacy. The new higher school is aimed at building the unified system of training and retraining of diplomatic personnel as well as extending the research on the basic aspects of international relations and development of modern society. The best international practice is actively applied to training Turkmen diplomats. The diplomats and political scientists from Germany, the United States, Austria and Cuba visited the Institute to foster international cooperation.

The Academy of Civil Service under the President of Turkmenistan was opened in Ashgabat. The Turkmen leader says that the pace of the ongoing large-scale reforms depend to a particular extent on education, broadmindedness, vigour and organizational skills of government servants, professional managers.

Introduction of new specialities at the Turkmen higher educational institutions is a key aspect of the education reforms. Over 30 new disciplines were introduced at the higher schools in Turkmenistan during the past two years. This process is conditioned by the social and economic progress and the large-scale plans to improve the living conditions in all regions of the country.

The Turkmen students acquire the theoretical knowledge and practical skills in information and engineering technologies, agriculture, medicine and sport, architecture and construction, economy and finance, oil and gas, chemical and food industries, road transport sector and the tourism business, maritime and fishing industries, international policy and journalism and dozens of other important specialities in the national and foreign universities. There are no limits in studying the foreign languages as an essential factor to develop and enhancing international contacts.

It is important that the higher education institutions in our country are the centres for training specialists of the new formation that is vividly illustrated by the results of the contests of the scientific works and innovative developments of young scientists and students. A striking example is the great success of the young Turkmen architects. The students and professors of the Department of Architecture and Construction of the Turkmen Polytechnic Institute developed the project of the new buildings of the Institutethat will house the Ashgabat branch of I. M. Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, which would be constructed in Ashgabat.

Geography of cooperation: international practice in training programmes

Introducing the world standards in the national education system Turkmenistan intensifies humanitarian collaboration with the UN, the European Union, the leading research and educational centers across the world. The practical results of this collaboration are the implementation of a number of the projects in the framework of the international programmes such as TEMPUS, TACIS, DAAT, InfoTuk, active exchange of professionals, student study tours, international seminars and scientific conferences. In accordance with the interstate agreements thousands of Turkmen students, who were selected on a competitive basis, study at the prestigious higher educational institutions in Europe, Asia, the CIS countries and the United States.

Turkmenistan has the strong ties of fruitful cooperation with UNESCO – the largest international organisation promoting global cooperation in education, science and culture. As is known, in 2009 Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received the Avicenna Gold Medal – the highest award of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The Objectives of Education: Central Asia in Global Context international forum that was conducted at the Columbia University in 2009, where Turkmenistan presented widely its achievements in the educational sphere, the first accomplishments of the large-scale reforms gave new impetus to foster partnership with the leading research and educational centres across the world. The lectures delivered by the professors of the Harriman Institute of the Columbia University at the largest higher schools of Turkmenistan continued the dialogue initiated among the universities in 2007 during the Turkmen leader’s visit to New York, where President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov participated in the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly. The American university professors delivered lectures at the largest universities Turkmenistan. The meetings and talks held by the American guests in the Turkmen capital resulted in the reaching the concrete agreements wide-scale scientific and educational cooperation.

The brief review of the delegations that visited Turkmenistan in 2009 to establish close relations in the educational sphere as well as the countries that the Turkmen specialists were delegated to vividly illustrates the expanding geography of partnership.

Thus, within the framework of the DAAD Academic Exchange Programme the delegation of the German specialists visited Ashgabat. The guests visited Magtymguly Turkmen State University and D. Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages and took part in selecting the DAAD programme fellows who would study at the leading universities in Germany. One more ‘language’ delegation from the oldest and most prestigious university in Japan – the Sensu University exchanged experiences with their colleagues from D. Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages.

In the framework of the EU TEMPUS-TACIS Inter-University Knowledge Management (IUKM) Programme a group of the teachers of the Turkmen State Institute of Transport and Communication and the Turkmen State Institute of Economy and Management attended the special courses at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona. The courses were delivered at the UNESCO Chair of Higher Education Management, the mission of which is to improve the quality and introduce innovations at higher schools, provide consultations and disseminate knowledge.

The professors of the Agricultural University of Nevada delivered the lectures at the Turkmen Agricultural University. The specialists of the Turkmen university visited the United States.

The teachers of Magtymguly Turkmen State University and the Institute of International Relations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan took part in the regional workshop on the Training of Lawyers in the XXI Century, which was conducted in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The Galkynysh students’ team of Turkmenistan participated in the 12th F. Martens Competition on International Humanitarian Law in Moscow. The first-year students of the branch of the Russian State University together with the students of the Department of Oil and Gas of the Turkmen Polytechnic Institute took part in the First International Student Technical and Scientific Conference “Oil and Gas Horizons” in Moscow.

The representative delegations of I. M. Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, the European Training Foundation and many other countries, the authoritative international organisations visited the Turkmen capital.

It should be noted that the delegation that accompanied the Turkmen leader on the official visit to Japan last December included the students of the Turkmen universities. The Turkmen students had an opportunity to visit the University of Tokyo and the Osaka Machine Building Plant – one of the flagships of the Komatsu Company. This fact vividly illustrates that the policy initiated by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov prioritized training of highly qualified specialists as well as bringing the national education system in compliance with world standards.

The International Expert Conference on the Role of Information and Communications Technologies, Science and Planning in Improving the Quality of Education was conducted under the auspices of UNESCO in Turkmenistan in December, 2009. The representative forum brought together the leading education specialists from Europe, Asia and America, the specialists of the UN agencies and other international organisations in Avaza national tourism zone. It should be noted that UNESCO conducted the conference on the key aspects of the development of education in the Central Asia for the first time and it is gratifying to know that Turkmenistan was chosen to be the venue for the expert forum was held in Turkmenistan that actively implements the programme of large-scale scientific and education reforms.