Training

According to official statistics, virtually all adult residents of Tajikistan can read and write, but many are believed to be illiterate. The level of education dropped sharply during the civil war in the 1990s, but now almost all children complete the nine years to which compulsory schooling applies.

The compulsory schooling begins at the age of seven. The compulsory school, which is free of charge, consists of a four-year and a five-year stage. Among those who drop out early are more girls than boys.

• COUNTRYAAH: Country facts of Tajikistan, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.

Almost every tenth child goes to preschool. The high school is two years old. There are both vocational and university preparatory courses.

The quality of teaching is often low. One fifth of the school buildings were destroyed during the civil war and many school premises are still in poor condition. Often there are no proper classrooms, electricity and drains. There is a shortage of books and other school material.

Many Russian teachers left the country in the 1990s, which led to an acute teacher shortage that has not yet been fully resolved. The teachers who are present have difficulty coping with the low wages and often have to do other work alongside. Many qualified teachers are giving up.

In the capital Dushanbe there has been a Tajik university since 1948 and since 1997 also a joint Russian-Tajik Slav university. The Central Asian University is a collaborative project between Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, founded in 2000. In addition, there are more than 30 other universities. About 40 percent of college students are women.

Even before Tajik became official language in 1989, a majority of the students were taught in this language. There are also schools with teaching in Uzbek and other languages. After 1989, all children must read Tajik from the first class and greater emphasis is placed on courses in Tajik literature, including classical Persian literature. Since 2003, all children in Tajikistan must re-read Russian in school.

• Educationvv: Provides school and education information in Tajikistan, covering middle school, high school and college education.

FACTS – EDUCATION

Proportion of children starting primary school

97.7 percent (2017)

Number of pupils per teacher in primary school

22 (2017)

Reading and writing skills

99.8 percent (2014)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP

16.4 percent (2015)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of the state budget

16.4 percent (2015)

2015

December

Currency speculation is stopped

The central bank orders that a thousand exchange offices be closed from year-end. The intention is to reduce speculative trading with the domestic currency Somoni, which during the year has fallen sharply in value.

Cult of personality is built around the president

Parliament unanimously decides to give President Rahmon the title of “Leader of the Nation” for life. The decision means that he gets legal immunity as long as he lives. At the same time, Parliament proposes creating a museum and library dedicated to Rahmon’s life’s work.

October

More Russian soldiers to Tajikistan

The Russian Ministry of Defense announces that combat helicopters and helicopters for military transport will be deployed in Tajikistan to strengthen the Russian military presence there. The decision is made the day after President Rahmon expressed his concern over the situation at the border with Afghanistan during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

International concern over mass arrests

UNHCR, UNHCR, European Security and Cooperation Organization OSCE, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and US Government all express concern over the arrests of Islamists and urge the Tajik authorities not to violate international law in their fight against what they call “terrorism” “and” extremism. ”

September

Islamist Party is stamped

A court calls the Islamic Renewal Party a terrorist movement. The decision gives the authorities the right to strike harder even against lower-level party members. It also means that the party’s newspaper Najat (Salvation) must be closed and that all distribution of party information is prohibited. The party’s legal representative is arrested.

Thirteen Islamist politicians are arrested

Thirteen members of the Prohibited Islamic Renewal Party are arrested on suspicion of contact with the Islamist group involved in breach of security forces.

Islamist militias are wiped out

The government claims in the middle of the month that the security forces have “eliminated” the entire Islamist militia group. General Nazarzoda is said to be among the dead.

Bloody clashes with Islamist militia

Two days of fighting in and near the capital Dushanbe between security forces and what is described as an Islamist militia are reported to require 35 lives, nine of which are police. President Rahmon accuses the rebels of sympathizing with the Islamic State terrorist movement. They are said to be led by General Abduchalim Nazarzoda, who has just been dismissed from the post of Deputy Minister of Defense. He is prosecuted in his absence for treason and terrorism.

August

The leading Islamist party is banned

The Ministry of Justice bans the Islamic Renewal Party and orders that all party departments in the country be dissolved. A planned party congress is set and the party headquarters in Dusjanbe is vacated and closed. The government points out that the party has too few members to comply with the rules of political parties. In the March elections, the Islamic renewal party lost its seats in Parliament (see also Political system). A day later, the Interior Ministry accuses the party of also having contact with the Islamic State (IS) terror group, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq.

June

Extremists will lose citizenship

Unanimously adopts a law requiring all Tajiks who join foreign extremist terrorist movements to be deprived of their citizenship; About 400 Tajiks are estimated to have joined the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. Among them is a colonel who was previously the head of the Ministry of the Interior’s special forces and who in May announced in a video that he had gone to IS in protest against what he perceived as the Tajik government’s anti-Islamic policy.

April

Young people are forbidden to make a pilgrimage

The government bans Tajiks under the age of 35 from carrying out hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The decision is believed to be an attempt to prevent young men from being radicalized and joining extremist movements.

Stiff campaign against Islamists

At a conference on the work against Islamic extremism, the people are invited to demand that the Islamic renewal party be stamped as a terrorist organization.

March

Campaign against Islamist party

At the end of the month, the imams in a number of mosques are calling on the country’s Muslims to demand that the Islamic renewal party be banned. A letter circulating in the mosques states that the best way to protect the country from Islamist extremists is to dissolve the party.

The president’s son leads the fight against corruption

President Rahmon appoints his eldest son, 27-year-old Rustam Emomali, to head the country’s anti-corruption authority.

Democracy activists are imprisoned

Two democracy activists are each sentenced to 16.5 years in prison for insulting President Rahmon, being a member of Group 24 and planning to try to overthrow the government. Both men are said to have admitted “partially guilty” but denied membership in Group 24.

Opposition politicians are murdered in Istanbul

Umarali opposition politician Umarali Quvvatov is shot dead in a street in Istanbul. Quvvatov led the banned organization Group 24 (see December 2012).

The ruling party wins in contested elections

March 1st

Parliamentary elections are held following an electoral movement that, according to international observers, including the OSCE, has been “virtually invisible”. The only opposition parties of any significance, the Islamist IRPT and the Social Democrats, have complained that they have been exposed to political pressure during their campaigns. President Rahmon’s ruling People’s Democratic Party wins 51 out of 63 seats, while the two opposition parties The Islamic renewal party and the Social Democratic party are unable to pass the five percent block. A handful of small parties receive one or a few mandates each. Foreign observers and opposition representatives judge the election as characterized by gross cheating and secrecy. Individuals have been able to vote multiple times or cast their votes for the whole family, electoral judges have told voters whom they should vote for, voting has been done without transparency, ballot papers have been filled up with ballots in advance. In addition, the state media has given all the attention to the government party during the election campaign and did not let the opposition speak out.