Tajikistan to host CARK Education Forum

Tajikistan will host this year's Central Asian Republics and Kazakhstan (CARK) Education Forum in June, bringing together 120 delegates from all five countries. "This is the first time [the] Tajikistan Ministry of Education is hosting the CARK Education Forum in Tajikistan," Yukie Mokuo, UNICEF country representative, told IRIN from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, noting the significance of the event. The two day event to be held on 6-7 June near the Tajik capital is to be hosted by the Tajik government, in partnership with the UN Children's Fund and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It will bring together representatives of the ministries of education from of all Central Asian countries and Kazakhstan. Also attending will be representatives from international organisations working towards the achievement of the six goals of Education for All (EFA), agreed on at the Jomtian Conference in Dakar in 1990. Access to quality education has long been a serious concern of education reform in Tajikistan, Mokuo explained, noting the former Soviet republic might not achieve its Millennium Development Goals for education unless joint efforts by the government and various international organisations are synchonised. This is especially important for girls, who are at a great risk of non-attending compulsory education, she added. "We have seen a decline in Tajikistan in education over the past decade," the UNICEF official said. "No precise information is available. However, it could be estimated [that] approximately 20 to 25 percent of children in Tajikistan are not completing nine years of compulsory education." Grade 5 girls in particular tend to drop out from school or failing to attend regularly, she explained, describing the reasons behind this as complex, with poverty being the primary one. "Families cannot afford school materials, clothing and transport," the agency official said. Meanwhile, the perceived value of education amongst parents had been declining, she added, with some parents not considering children's education as a priority. "In large families they prefer sending boys to school rather than girls, or they send the children to street work." But problems within the education system of the poorest of the former Soviet republics has also played a role. Although increasing to some degree, social sector expenditure remains low, having an undeniable impact on the quality of education. "The government of Tajikistan is making serious efforts to support the education sector reform, which the international community is supporting too," Mokuo maintained. "However, the challenges are significant and problems are complex. Therefore it requires serious political commitment and international support." It is precisely this which makes the forum so important. Participants will be able to define strategies and policies to achieve EFA and MDG goals, including the development of major indicators to accurately measure the success of reform policy. A statement by UNICEF announcing the event gave details of the agenda. On the first day an executive committee will meet to discuss the forum's organisation, while education reform experiences and global and Central Asia priorities will be discussed on the day two. On the second day, forum participants will also partcipate in technical discussions relating to the quality of education and the level of access to it. Tajikistan selected girls' education as a priority area for the forum and so this was selected as the main topic for one of the five thematic groups, to be headed by the Deputy Minister of Education of Tajikistan. Thematic groups usually work throughout the year and report on their work at the CARK Education Forum. The CARK Education Forum has already been held in the three other CARK countries, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This year the issues of quality and access to education through the reform process will be discussed, the UNICEF statement stated. [For further information on the CARK Forum see: www.carkforum.tj]