Mountain University: Dream or Reality

           The reason why I wanted to blog on this topic is that I would like to visit these universities in future and see the real results of the initiative to build campuses near mountains and how they affect on country’s education system and collaboration with international partners.  

The agreement to establish the University of Central Asia (UCA) in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan was signed in 2000 by the initiatives of three presidents of those countries and the Aga Khan. The location for the UCA was chosen by the Aga Khan who put emphasis on the development of mountain regions: Tekkeli in Kazakhstan, Naryn in Kyrgyzstan, and Khorog in Tajikistan (Sahadeo, 2011). 

The goals of the UCA are to build Central Asian system of Higher education in accordance with westernized style; to save cultural and historical aspects of the developing countries; and to enhance the education system in rural and mountain areas. The campuses of the UCA are provided with world-class facilities, well-designed curriculum in accordance with westernized education system. The language of construction at the UCA is English. Consequently, foreign faculty and researchers are attracted to come to the university and to transfer their knowledge and practice to the local staff.

Sahadeo (2011) refers the following challenges to the regional problems in education in most post-Soviet countries: the issue of corruption in universities, passive involvement of women in education, low quality of rural education and insignificant amount of teachers’ salary. I would not agree with the statement of passive involvement of women in education in Kazakhstan. If comparing these three countries, Kazakhstan is more ahead. There are many bright women scholars, educators and students, who present a significant number of women representatives in education.

 It is worth to question why the universities are located in mountain areas, far from the cities. The reason is that lagging-backward regions of most developing, especially, post-Soviet countries are mountain areas. As the market-based economy drives the nations, most of people move from villages to cities endangering culture and history of a country. Also, establishing universities will help increase the employment rate in rural areas. But, in realty does it work? Does this initiative really improve the social status of people from rural areas? 

In conclusion, it is difficult to say about the future of the UCA because the construction of the campuses has still been continuing. Nevertheless, the initiative to maintain mountain-rural areas by building a higher education institution is a big step to a bright future.  

Sahadeo, J. (2011). Regional histories, critical thought, and the University of Central Asia. In

I. Silova (Ed.), Globalization on the margins: Educational and postsocialist transformations in Central Asia (pp. 95-115). Charlotte, N.C.: Information Age Publishing Inc.