Export of Russian Educational Services to Tajikistan: Prerequisites, Problems, and Prospects

Abstract

National universities of Tajikistan compete for Tajik applicants with European, US, Turkish, and South-Korean universities. In this regard, the current educational cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia is a relevant issue. The article describes the export of Russian higher education services to Tajikistan. The authors identified patterns and problems for higher education development in Tajikistan, as well as evaluated the prospects for academic cooperation with Russian universities. Tajikistan is currently experiencing the following unfavorable domestic factors: state conservatism, population growth, lack of resources, corruption, and nepotism. Academic cooperation with Russia may become valuable support for Tajikistan’s higher education. In its academic export, Russia relies on the position of the Russian language in Tajikistan. As the Russian higher education has been improving its positions recently, it attracts students from Tajikistan using the branches of Russian universities in the country. On the one hand, Russian academic services may provide accessible and high-quality higher education to the young people of Tajikistan. On the other hand, they aggravate the conservative trends in the local system of higher education.

Keywords

• academic export
• international academic cooperation
• quality of higher education
• academic migration
• russian language learning
• branch campuses