Tajikistan

The Republic of Tajikistan is a small landlocked country located in south-eastern Central Asia of 9.12 million people. During the civil war of 1992-1997the economy and much of the educational infrastructure was destroyed. Even though the share of state budget resources and other investments in education is gradually increasing, the economy’s competitiveness remains low. The economy is heavily dependent on labor migration to Russia and remittances, which affects the demand for labor, including the domestic demand for professional skills, competencies, and knowledge, and employment opportunities for university graduates. The Tajikistan education system inherited a highly centralized and unified system of education that required substantial reforms. By 2018-2019, 40 state higher education institutions enrolled 209,800 students. The Government of Tajikistan is striving to integrate its higher education system into European higher education and actively pursuing the Bologna Process. The country’s universities have limited autonomy from direct governmental oversight. Higher education institutions have Academic Councils, and are chaired by the rector appointed by the government.