Turkmenistan's new leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has cultivated an image as a cautious reformer - mainly through a pledge to improve the Central Asian nation's education system. Initial steps to develop a new culture of learning in Turkmenistan, however, have not brought visible benefits to the educational sphere, observers in Ashgabat report.
In approaching the legacy of his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, Berdymukhamedov has moved cautiously. On the one hand, Berdymukhamedov has let it be known that the cult of personality built up around Niyazov is not going to be dismantled anytime soon. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive [3]]. On the other hand, Berdymukhamedov has spoken repeatedly about reversing some of the most damaging aspects of Niyazov's tenure, which was marked by anti-intellectualism. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive [4]]. During his first-ever trip to the United States in September, for example, one of Berdymukhamedov's top priorities was establishing contacts that could help Turkmenistan revive its educational system.
Shortly after winning a special presidential election in February, Berdymukhamedov decreed the extension of compulsory education to 10 years from the nine-year system that existed under Niyazov. He also restored university education to a five-year course, seemingly intent on reversing his predecessor's higher education policy of two years of classroom study and two years of practical experience.
Despite such steps, observers report that there has been little change in the quality of education in Turkmenistan. "We are currently on the verge of a humanitarian disaster; an entire generation of youth has been