Focus on lack of teachers

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has just approved a US $15.5 million grant for a project aimed at delivering better education to children in poor areas and from disadvantaged families in the Kyrgyzstan. The project will help the government modernise the country’s basic education curriculum, rehabilitate facilities and provide educational equipment for 90 priority schools in rural areas. But observers say the biggest need is for more and better-trained teachers in the former Soviet republic. The educational year is in full swing in Kyrgyzstan, but a lack of teachers in various subjects, especially in rural areas, means that many school children are in danger of not fulfilling their potential. LACK OF QUALIFIED TEACHERS Aziz, 16, studying at a secondary school in the village of Novopokrovka, near the capital Bishkek, wants to become an information technology (IT) specialist, but prospects for his career do not look good as there are simply no teachers at his school to teach the subject. “We do not have teachers for several subjects, for example we do not have teachers of biology, information technology and several others. Sometimes different teachers teach the same subjects, though they do not know the subject well. I want to study at university and become a good professional, but with this knowledge, what can I do?” Aziz asked. His case illustrates the increasing problem that many school-aged children in this country of 5.1 million experience daily. National statistics show that the number of young people aged between five and 15 is about 1.3 million, or roughly 25 percent of the country’s population. NATIONAL SHORTAGE The authorities acknowledge the problem and have introduced a compulsory service programme for graduates. “This year we have enrolled 2,516 graduates from pedagogical [teacher training] institutions, but we need 3,372 teachers, so we have a shortage of almost 900 teachers,” Nurgul Mambetakunova, a senior official in the Ministry of Education (MoE)’s personnel department, said in Bishkek, adding that in 2004 they lacked some 700 teachers. While thousands graduate every year from Kyrgyzstan’s higher education institutions, the ministry can send only those who received government scholarships during their study to work as teachers at schools for a two-year compulsory service. The rest simply do not want to take up a teaching job due to the low salary and lack of government support, officials explained. In the past there were some social benefits for teachers, including a 50 percent discount on some taxes and utilities, now “the minimum salary of a teacher who comes to a school right after graduating from university is about US $11 [per month],” Mambetakunova said. “I study here because it was easy to enroll; in the future I want to find a better job than to be a teacher. Who wants to be a teacher for such a low salary?” 19-year-old Nurgiza, a student at the Kyrgyz National Pedagogical University, asked in Bishkek. ENCOURAGING MORE TEACHERS While the situation in the capital is not good, it is in remote areas where a lack of teachers is most acute. In an effort to tackle the problem, earlier this year, the government announced a special initiative aimed at encouraging young graduates to go to work in rural schools. Under the “Young Teacher’s Deposit” programme, a new teacher in the scheme gets almost $50 in addition to the basic salary each month over three years. "Some $48 will be transferred to each teacher's account every month. But new teachers will receive the whole amount - roughly $1,750 - only after three years of work at a rural school," Salmor Asanov, chief of the economics department at the MoE, said earlier this year. The financial incentive is proving popular with teachers. “This year there were 300 vacancies and about 500 teachers applied. Next year we hope to get 600 new participants,” Mambetakunova noted. There’s more good news for the beleaguered education sector. In addition to the scheme, President Kurmanbek Bakiev said on 1 September that teachers’ salaries would increase by 50 percent in 2006.