[Discussion] The Great Game, Campus Version

[Paksoy, Hb]

  The Great Game, Campus Version
The United States and other countries battle for the minds of a former =
Soviet republic

By BRYON MacWILLIAMS
CHE
>From the issue dated March 14, 2003


Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Outsiders have vied for power and influence in Central Asia for =
centuries. The Scythians, Alexander the Great, Turkish alliances, and =
the Mongols predated Britain, which bowed out of the so-called Great =
Game with Russia in the 19th century. The Soviets yielded in the 20th =
century.

Even though independent nations re-emerged in the region in the 1990s, =
that has not meant an easing of the struggle. In Kyrgyzstan, countries =
such as the United States, Russia, and Turkey are still trying to curry =
favor -- not on the battlefield, but in universities.

"We've got our own mini-version of the Great Game going on in Bishkek," =
says David Huwiler, president of American University-Central Asia. (The =
institution is not part of, or associated with, American University in =
Washington.)

Some 53 percent of Kyrgyzstan's 115,000 college students study here in =
the small capital of this mountainous, landlocked, mostly Muslim country =
about the size of South Dakota. The secular government, with its liberal =
political and economic leanings, is perhaps the most accommodating to =
foreign influence in Central Asia.=20

Local Kyrgyz institutions operate much as they did during the cold war, =
only today rectors milk the underfinanced system -- along with its =
current students -- while fending off change. That has opened the door =
for Russian, Turkish, and American institutions, as well as a Kuwaiti =
and an Uzbek university, and a few Islamic religious institutions.

While controlling higher education is the ostensible goal, the stakes =
are higher. Universities and their sponsoring countries hope that when =
this generation of students ascends, as it inevitably will, to the =
leadership positions of Kyrgyzstan, it will look favorably upon those =
countries that influenced students' education.

The theory is that if institutions like AUCA -- which is backed by the =
U.S. State Department, the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute, =
and the Eurasia Foundation -- flourish here, then Kyrgyzstan will =
gravitate to so-called civil societies of the West in general and the =
United States in particular. And so the United States may be able to use =
Kyrgyzstan as a military base convenient to operations in, say, =
Afghanistan or the Middle East. (U.S. troops are already in Kyrgyzstan, =
and U.S. military planes are parked on the tarmac of the Bishkek =
airport.)=20

That's why, across town, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University, which is =
financed by Russia, is recruiting students for the Soviet system of =
education that it so proudly preserves. And why Turkish institutions =
like Manas Kyrgyz-Turkish University try to instill not only knowledge, =
but language and ideology, in a bid to foster what scholars there refer =
to as a "renaissance of Turkish civilizations."

The Wild Blue Yonder

There is competition for students. There is competition for professors. =
And sometimes, the rivalries get personal.

"There's hostility from other rectors," says American University's Mr. =
Huwiler. "I don't go out to dinner with other college presidents here."

He has not been invited to the city's monthly meeting of rectors since =
June, when Camilla Sharshekeevasic, who had close ties to American =
University-Central Asia and is now provost there, was dismissed as =
Bishkek's minister of education and culture.

"Relations are not as good among universities as they are among the =
countries they represent," concedes Salavat Usmanov, dean of =
international relations at Slavonic.

On a recent Monday, AUCA was nearly empty, as students were elsewhere =
training to become military officers and medical assistants in order to =
sidestep the mandatory draft. American University-Central Asia, unlike =
Slavonic, for example, does not provide military training, in part =
because it has no desire to emulate the old Soviet model of higher =
education in which the military was essentially a component of every =
university.

That same day, a colorful hand-drawn banner in the cafeteria proclaimed =
International Coming Out Day. "Here we have a different atmosphere. Here =
we have rights," says Ekaterina Shiriaeva, a third-year student majoring =
in international relations. "At Slavonic, you feel like you're in the =
'80s or '70s, communist stuff."

American University-Central Asia was essentially spun off from the =
Kyrgyz-American School at the Kyrgyz State National University in 1993. =
It strives to be a classic American liberal-arts college, with a =
credit-hour system and an American-style curriculum, and administrators =
say it is dedicated to freedom of expression and inquiry. Certainly it =
is the only one of its kind, in that regard, in Central Asia.

Among its offerings are bachelor-of-arts degrees in economics, =
international and comparative politics, journalism, law, psychology, =
socio-logy, information technology, and various "studies" including =
Anglo-American, Austrian and German, and Kyrgyz, as well as a B.A. and =
an M.A. in business administration. The courses are generally taught in =
English, though many are carried out in Russian, and Russian is spoken =
in the hallways. American professors have returned (most left following =
September 11, 2001), but four-fifths of the 203 faculty members are =
Russian or Kyrgyz. The graduates go on to government posts, American =
graduate schools, American or Western nongovernmental organizations in =
Kyrgyzstan, and to American or Western companies with operations in =
Kyrgyzstan.

About 30 percent of the student body of 1,065 is from elsewhere in =
Central Asia. The number, which hovered at about 12 percent several =
years ago, is expected to climb to 50 percent in 2003 -- when the number =
of students will be officially capped at 1,500 to hold the university to =
its mission as a model liberal-arts institution.

Annual tuition here is $1,700, an enormous sum. By way of comparison, a =
one-room, 62-square-foot apartment can be purchased for around $1,000, =
according to a paper glued to a cement telephone pole on the street =
outside. Still, most of these universities are now tuition-driven; the =
state contributes only about $150 per student annually to Kyrgyz =
institutions.

Administrators at AUCA say their university is the only one not =
permeated with corruption. Indeed, it is no secret that corruption =
pervades higher education on all levels in Kyrgyzstan. But bribery and =
cheating, according to students and professors, as well as ministry =
officials and knowledgeable NGO observers, is far less common at AUCA =
and Manas Kyrgyz-Turkish University.

Perhaps it's the pledge on the walls of the cafeteria at AUCA. It's a =
slogan borrowed from the U.S. Air Force and printed in three languages: =
"We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who =
does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honestly."

But corruption may nonetheless have a strong influence at American =
University-Central Asia, because the children of the country's =
wealthiest families attend it. And conventional wisdom in Kyrgyzstan has =
it that anyone with money is corrupt, since there is no way to honestly =
make a good living.

>From Russia With Love

Slavonic was once the country's most prestigious university. White-birch =
saplings have been planted along correct rows of red and pink rosebushes =
outside the university's main building. Mercedeses, mostly white, are =
still parked regularly on the front pavement near the base of a statue =
of Alexander Pushkin, the Russian poet.

And some say it remains the premier institution, as it awards both =
Kyrgyz and Russian diplomas -- the latter enabling graduates to leave =
the country for employment in Russia and other former Soviet republics. =
The university was created in 1993 primarily to help retain the Russian =
population, many of whom (the most educated, more often than not) were =
emigrating because of the increased "Kyrgyzification" of life and =
education. (Kyrgyz, for instance, was made the official language a few =
years earlier.) It was also meant to attract Russian-speaking students =
from all Central Asian countries.

"There have been very few changes over the past 10 years. The curriculum =
is almost identical to that which was taught in the Soviet Union," Mr. =
Usmanov of the international-relations department says.

About half of Slavonic's 6,000 students are ethnic-Kyrgyz, and half are =
ethnic-Russian. In 1991, about 70 percent of all students enrolled free, =
and 30 percent paid for their tuition. By last fall, the numbers had =
been inverted.

Tuition now costs up to $800 annually for the more popular departments, =
such as law and economics. By way of comparison, a beginning instructor =
at Slavonic earns 1,000 som per month, or about $46, in a country where =
the average monthly salary is around $30. A teacher with about 10 years =
of experience earns $184 per month.=20

"This is the Soviet system of education, and it, in its time, was =
regarded as the best, like Harvard, or Oxford," says Aidai =
Baidzhigitova, a third-year student majoring in international economics. =
"We're more oriented to the Near Abroad, not the United States or =
Europe."

Here, memorization is rewarded over creative thinking. Here, exams are =
oral. "The idea of such education is, an expert like me comes in the =
room, pours tremendous amounts of information into their empty heads, =
and that information is repeated back to me in periodic intervals," says =
William Hansen, a professor of international and comparative politics at =
AUCA. "They have this concept of pedagogy that ... you come in at 8 in =
the morning and leave at 5 in the afternoon, and everyone is in =
lockstep."

Mr. Usmanov boasts that the 678 international-relations majors spend 42 =
hours per week in lectures, or six hours more than the university's =
maximum. "There is no freedom of choice. We don't have a democracy =
here," he says. Students attend lectures during which they are expected =
to take down all that a professor says, then recite it during exams, =
which are almost always oral. Discussion at lectures is not encouraged.

Manas Kyrgyz-Turkish University officials say that it was founded on an =
Anglo-American model. But according to its own professors, it is a =
uniquely Turkish institution.=20

For starters, tuition is free. In fact, students receive monthly =
stipends of between 500 and 600 som, or up to $13, just for attending =
what is easily the most attractive and well-financed institution in the =
city.

Some 1,800 students, many of whom were undereducated village kids =
recruited for Turkish-financed suburban high schools, attend the =
university, opened in 1995 in what was formerly a Soviet institute for =
mass-construction projects. Manas put $14-million into renovating the =
structure, and by 2010 will have spent another $138-million on a new, =
210-acre campus that will accommodate 7,500 students and 11 departments. =
Professors teach primarily in Turkish and Russian, and occasionally in =
English.=20

"American University is one of the best, but for now our possibilities =
are greater," says Karybek Moldobaev, Manas's rector.

Manas currently has four departments: economics and management, =
communications, engineering, and humanities. It's this last department =
-- with its teachings about Kyrgyz Turks and emphasis on Turkish =
language, literature, and history -- that most influences the perception =
of the university as a scholarly entity.

"We don't allow anyone to infuse the university with some kind of =
ideology or other," Mr. Moldobaev says. "The people of Central Asia are =
Turks. They share one root. They lived in one united state, where there =
was a united culture, a unified language. "There are no political =
agendas. What, Turkey is going to establish itself as God?"

But some Manas professors disagree on that last point. One, who asked to =
remain anonymous, says the ideology dominates the curriculum. "The =
nationalist-Turkish politics are intense here. They are trying to make =
people believe that they are all Turks. The quality of scholarship, =
unfortunately, is not on par with the quality of architecture."

How will higher education's Great Game play out in Kyrgyzstan, with the =
Americans, Russians, and Turks all trying to make an impact? In an =
e-mail message, David Hu-wiler says that the outcome of the game is less =
important than ensuring that Central Asian students have access to =
affordable, high-quality educations. Most students who graduate from =
American University-Central Asia find jobs, he says, and a large number =
go on to graduate school in the West. As a result, the number of =
applications, both from Kyrgyzstan and from the other Central Asian =
republics, is increasing annually. "To the extent that universities here =
are freed from rigid Education Ministry constraints and are allowed to =
compete with one another," Mr. Huwiler says, "they will continue to =
improve."




-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------
http://chronicle.com
Section: International
Volume 49, Issue 27, Page A39=20