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Turkmenistan
Education System
Although the education system in Turkmenistan retains the centralized
structural framework of the Soviet system, significant modifications
are underway, partly as a response to national redefinition, but
mainly as a result of the government's attempts to produce a highly
skilled work force to promote Turkmenistan's participation in
international commercial activities. Reforms also include cultural
goals such as the writing of a new history of Turkmenistan, the
training of multilingual cadres able to function in Turkmen, English,
and Russian, and the implementation of alphabet reform in schools.
Turkmenistan's educational establishment is funded and administered
by the state. The Ministry of Education is responsible for secondary
education and oversees about 1,800 schools offering some or all
of the secondary grades. Of that number, 43.5 percent are operated
on one shift and 56.5 percent on two shifts (primarily in cities).
Secondary schools have 66,192 teachers who serve 831,000 students.
Thirty-six secondary schools specialize in topics relevant to
their ministerial affiliation. The primary and secondary systems
are being restructured according to Western models, including
shorter curricula, more vocational training, and human resource
development.
Data as of March 1996
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