The states of Central Asia have long been under the influence of the former Union. The USSR, created in 1922, was actually liquidated on December 8, 1991. Since then, the five Central Asian republics have come under the influence of Moscow in every respect. Thus, along with political dependence, the educational chain was carried out in accordance with the plan established by the center.

    In 1991, five states of the region began to gain independence one after another. These politically independent states faced many problems. The heads of state were among the first to draw attention to the need to reform the education sector in accordance with the spirit of the times, based on the national mentality. However, it should be noted that reforming the education sector is not proceeding in the same way in all states of the region. Because the political situation in these countries also influenced it.

    Now let's turn our attention to the state of the educational process in the states of Central Asia that have just gained independence. At the same time, the education system of the countries of the region was carried out on the basis of a system developed on the basis of the relevant institutions of the former Union. The education of the child initially began with the kindergarten, in which preschoolers received their education. The next stage was the school, at this stage the children received 11 or 8 years of education. It is quite natural that the question arises why children are given 11 or 8 years of education. Some children were vocationally oriented after 8 years of schooling, while other children continued their education at school. But not always students after 8 years of study are sent to the profession of their own free will. Post-secondary education was carried out in institutes. At the same time, students are provided with a 5-year (in some institutes, the term of study may differ) education. During this time, the student could obtain the necessary knowledge in his specialty and conduct further activities in various sectors of the national economy.

    Each of the students got the opportunity to continue their education and continue their careers at universities.

    Above, we examined the general state of the education system of the republics of Central Asia at a time when they were under the influence of the USSR. This system seems to work very well. It really is. But the order established in the Union republics was not always observed. The lag behind the times in the education system also began to manifest itself by the end of the 70s of the XX century. The material and technical base of educational institutions was not up to the mark. In addition, many more disadvantages can be listed.

    After the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the republics of the region had two options. One of these ways was the preservation of the education system of the USSR, or the adoption of a new one, corresponding to the spirit of the times. While some countries in the region that have correctly understood the political situation have chosen to gradually reform the education system, political instability in Tajikistan has caused the reform of the system to be delayed.

    Since the 1980s, the countries of Central Asia began to lag behind the developed countries in terms of the level of education. During this period, the education system in developed countries underwent changes in accordance with the spirit of the times. For example, at a time when modern advanced technologies were being introduced in educational institutions in Europe and the United States, in the education of the countries of Central Asia these technologies were taught only theoretically. This situation was observed not only in the states of Central Asia, but also in other states of the Union. Even after gaining independence, these republics could not immediately introduce modern technologies into education. The reason is that the economic situation of the states was not at the amateur level.

    Now the main attention will be paid to the state of educational institutions in Central Asia in the first years of independence. To begin with, let's get acquainted with the state of educational institutions of Kazakhstan, located in the northern part of the region. During the period of Kazakhstan's independence in 1991, the total number of educational institutions in the country was 17,783. From this number, it can be seen that educational institutions were the best indicator compared to the population of the republic. Of the 17,783, 8,881 were pre-school educational institutions, 8,841 were schools and 61 were higher educational institutions.

    In Kazakhstan in 1991, 1,067,814 children were brought up in 8,881 preschool educational institutions. The total number of preschool children in the state during this period exceeded 2,300,000. Based on this, in Kazakhstan, 43% of children of this age are brought up in preschool educational institutions. Along with these figures, attention should also be paid to the condition of institutions. Of the 8881 existing preschool educational institutions, more than 40% turned out to be unclaimed. The material and technical base of these nurseries was in an unsatisfactory state. Another 20% were able to meet the established norm. Pre-school educational institutions of the demanded level are located in the centers of large cities of the state, in the northern regions. In many of these educational institutions children of the Russian-speaking population were educated.

    Despite the fact that the total number of Kazakhstani schools for the period under review was 8841, more than half of them did not meet the established requirements. Most of the schools were in disrepair. Such schools are located mainly in auls and villages. The material and technical base of most schools turned out to be unclaimed. And at the same time, the condition of the schools located in the center was at the proper level. Russian-medium schools performed much better than Kazakh-teaching and other language-teaching schools.

    In 1991, 61 higher educational institutions operated in Kazakhstan. The higher education system also has a low level of education compared to developed countries. The status of many institutions turned out to be unclaimed. Even in higher education, the Russian language significantly prevailed over other languages.

    Kazakhstan, which had just gained independence, was faced with the task of eliminating the shortcomings listed above. Reforming this sphere of power in Kazakhstan began from the first years of independence.

    Kyrgyzstan, neighboring Kazakhstan, also became independent on August 31, 1991. At the time of gaining independence, there were 3,369 educational institutions in the country. Many of these institutions were in disrepair. Of the 3369 existing educational institutions, 1600 were pre-school educational institutions, 1759 schools and 10 higher and secondary educational institutions.

    In Kyrgyzstan, which gained independence, there was still no such level of education that one could envy. Of the 1600 existing preschool institutions, more than half were unclaimed. The buildings of many of them are in disrepair and are not provided with heating and sewerage. Most preschool educational institutions in this state are located in rural areas of the republic. Much better was the case with state institutions located in large urban centers. As an example, out of more than 220 pre-schools located in Bishkek, only 32 were unsatisfactory. But in preschool educational institutions located in urban centers, cases of teaching the Russian language are not uncommon.

    Of the 1,759 schools existing in the republic, 40% were in demand. The remaining 60% do not meet the requirements of the established standard. Most of the under-educated schools were mostly in rural and suburban areas.

    Although the number of higher education institutions in the country was 10, the condition of only 3 of them was satisfactory. The material and technical base of the remaining 7 was quite poor. The premises of some institutions were unclaimed.

    The state of educational institutions in Tajikistan in 1991 practically did not differ from other republics of the region. Of the 4401 educational institutions existing in the country, 944 are preschool educational institutions, 3443 are schools and 14 are higher educational institutions.

    A total of 141,500 children were brought up in 944 existing kindergartens throughout the country. This represented 30% of the total number of preschool children in the state at the time. These figures show that even in the post-Soviet period in Tajikistan, most of the children of preschool age were brought up at home. The material and technical base of even a significant part of the existing nurseries turned out to be unclaimed.

    In Tajikistan in 1991 a total of 1,325,400 children were enrolled in 3,443 operating schools. In Tajikistan, as in other republics, most of the schools did not meet the requirements. This is especially true for hard-to-reach rural areas of the republic. In most schools in large cities of the state, instruction was conducted in Russian.

    Most of the country's 14 higher education institutions were not in a good position. When comparing the material and technical base of the Tajik State National University, founded in 1947 in Dushanbe, with universities located in the central cities of the Union, one can find a much greater difference.

    Turkmenistan is located in the southwest of Central Asia, most of which is desert. Turkmenistan also began efforts to reform the education system from the very beginning of independence. During this period, 2726 educational institutions functioned in Turkmenistan. Of these, 920 were preschool educational institutions, 1880 schools, 6 institutions of higher education.

    Even in Turkmenistan, the position of the majority of preschool educational institutions remained unclaimed. Out of 920 schools, only 35% of educational institutions complied with the established procedure. The rest was unclaimed.

    Of the 1,800 existing schools in the state in 1991, 55% were at demand. In 1991, the total number of students in schools amounted to 890 thousand people. 55,000 teachers worked in schools.

    Of the 1800 schools existing in Turkmenistan, 180 are designed for education in Russian, 90 in Uzbek. In addition, in Turkmen-language schools, much attention is paid to the transition to Russian.

    The status of 6 higher educational institutions that existed in Turkmenistan in 1991 also did not differ from the status of institutions in other countries of the region. These are subjects taught in higher educational institutions, the material base of which is lower than required.

    Even in Uzbekistan, located in the center of Central Asia, the general condition of educational institutions in 1991 did not differ much from that of the other four republics. The material and technical base of educational institutions in Uzbekistan is also very different compared to the central regions of the Union.

    In all republics, the material and technical condition of a significant part of educational institutions was not at the proper level. At the same time, the level of knowledge of the majority of pedagogical workers working in educational institutions turned out to be insufficient.

    There were also stark differences in the textbooks taught in schools across the region. Textbooks written in Russian were of a higher quality than textbooks in the local language. Most of the literature on subjects taught in higher education institutions was in Russian. This created a number of problems for many young people who did not know Russian. Because in the countries of Central Asia, not all segments of the population spoke Russian. The Russian language was spoken mainly by residents of the city and its environs. Most of the young people who came to the city from the villages did not know Russian very well.

    Until now, the five republics of the region, which gained independence in 1991, faced the above problems. The leaders who came to power were well aware that without a reform of the education system, great goals could not be achieved. Therefore, from the first days of Independence, they began to make efforts to reform this area.

Alisher Tilavov,

Master of Samarkand State University.