It is commonly
agreed that in order to be globally competitive and have a strong higher education
system, countries should be able to engage in international and intercultural
dialogue. In this regard, internationalization of higher education seems to be
vital and irreversible process. Undoubtedly, each specific country, as well as
each region has its own unique approach to the process of internationalization.
According to Merrill (2009) this process has unique peculiarities for Central
Asia in general and for each Central Asian country in particular. Each country
within the sub-region has its own rationales and perceptions of the
internationalization of higher education. In this regard, it can be assumed
that the internationalization is no longer a choice for Central Asia, but the
vital necessity for further growth and development
Having mentioned
that internationalization in Central Asia has different pathways, it also should
be noted that there are some trends common to the whole region, such as Soviet
legacy, common heritage in Islam and challenges of independence. I absolutely
agree with the author about those issues, but the same time I think it is
important to understand that each Central Asian country perceives and deals
with challenges in its own specific ways; one country is taking efforts to
strengthen and improve the higher education system, another is satisfied with
the existing state of things and do not bring any actions. Similar geographical
and ethnical peculiarities do not imply for the coordinated and consistent way
of response to the demands of the contemporary scope of higher education.
Eagerness of some
Central Asian countries to become members of the Bologna Process reflects the
national policies toward political and economic integration with the European
Union. In 2010 Kazakhstan became a 47th member of the Bologna
Process. It is provoked a great debate about the legitimacy of the membership.
More specifically, Tomusk (2009) ironically points out that other Central Asian
countries won’t be able to follow Kazakhstan in joining the Bologna Process, as
they do not have influential partners and sufficient resource foundation, as
Kazakhstan has. Another Central Asian country which is more or less involved in
internationalization process is Kyrgyzstan. Country experiences a great
political impact of the US, which is also reflected in several US-Kyrgyz joint
educational projects.
In the case of
Uzbekistan, country is “wary of western influence” (Merrill, 2009, p. 161).
Consequently, the national authorities are strictly control all international
activities. Although, de jure Uzbekistan has branch campuses of foreign
universities; de facto – all activities and governance are undertaken by Uzbek
staff, while international representatives almost do not have any power.
Turkmenistan and
Tajikistan are two Central Asian countries which are expresses severe
reluctance to be involved in international and intercultural dialogue. In the
case of Turkmenistan, it is more about the willingness, while Tajikistan being
resistant to cooperate also lacks sufficient financial foundation and
infrastructure to catch up with the demands of the process of
internationalization.
Many researchers
and scholars apply the concept of “internationalization of higher education in
Central Asia” and mean only some particular countries, not the whole region.
Nowadays, it is apparent that internationalization happens mostly in Kazakhstan
and Kyrgyzstan, limited in Uzbekistan and almost does not exist in Turkmenistan
and Tajikistan. The main hindrances are of course closely tight with the
economic and political situation in the country. Thus, the improvements of
financial situation, infrastructure and overall economic and political
situation may lead to more active participation of Central Asian in the
internationalization process.
References
Merrill, M. C. (2010).
Internationalizing higher education in Central Asia. In I. Silova (Eds.), Globalization
on the Margins: Education and Postsocialist Transformations in Central Asia
(pp. 145-169). Information Age Publication.
Tomusk, V. (2010). The Geography and
Geometry of the Bologna Process. In I. Silova (Eds.), Globalization on the
Margins: Education and Postsocialist Transformations in Central Asia (pp.
41-60). Information Age Publication.
Aizhan, thank you for this interesting and informative blog! I appreciate your way of developing ideas from one paragraph to another. I think, the topic of Internationalization of Central Asian states or preparatory stages for internationalization in these countries can be interesting and relevant topics for us and for the whole world, I suppose. Thinking about internationalization in Central Asia I always think about the idea of Rumbley, Altbach & Reisberg that there are winners and losers in the process of internationalization, there are those who gain more while others less. But, of course, for Kazakhstan, we can provide with examples indicating that we also win and also some disadvantageous situations as well. Internationalization does not ask whether we want to be internationalized or not, there is need and we should strategically view this need analyzing thoroughly it benefits and threats.
ReplyDeleteRumbley, E., Altbach, G. & Reisberg, L. (2012). Internationalization within Higher Education Context. The SAGE handbook of
International Higher Education (pp. 3-26). United States of America: SAGE publications, Inc.
The reform of higher education system in Central Asia towards the European educational system is a changeover required by time and society. And internationalization in different countries of Central Asia, as you mentioned, has different pathways. If we look at the situation in our country, the integration into the world educational area becomes slow and painful. There are number of reasons for that. The main hindrance of which is the fact that education is still with the Soviet frame of mind, i.e. when academic staff work as a teacher rather than a researcher. Centralization is another factor which also thwarts the progress of the Bologna Process. The universities have no autonomy; they cannot choose subjects themselves, there should be approval from the Ministry of Education and Science, and also the number of credits and students is strictly controlled by the government. Thus, we have slow internationalization process. Of course, the process of changes in higher education will not happen in a minute. Hence, any reform needs time, facilities, governmental and international support.
ReplyDelete