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Turkmenistan
Higher Education
After completing secondary school, students may continue their
education at one of the dozens of specialized institutes or at
Turkmenistan State University in Ashgabat. Admittance into higher
education institutions often is extremely competitive, and personal
connections and bribes may play a role in gaining entry and later
advancement. Prospective students must pass a lengthy, pressure-packed
entrance examination. Like all the other tests and evaluations
in the educational system, this examination consists of both written
and oral parts.
Completion of a course of study in higher institutions may take
up to five years. Attempts are being made to decrease the number
of years one must study so that young women may finish their higher
education by their twentieth or twenty-first birthday, by which
time they are expected to be married. Graduate study is an option
for outstanding students at the university or in one of the Academy
of Science's many research institutes.
The recently formed Council of Higher Education supervises Turkmenistan
State University, the republic's eight institutes, and its two
pedagogical institutes; these institutes are located in Ashgabat,
with the exception of a pedagogical institute in Chärjew. These
higher education institutions served 41,700 students in 1991,
of which 8,000 were enrolled in the state university. Some institutes
that train professionals for specific sectors of the national
economy fall under the aegis of the relevant ministries. An education
committee also functions under the president of the republic.
Data as of March 1996
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