Institutes of higher education produce new jobless specialists

Recently, a paradoxical situation takes place in Kirghizia: functionaries and mass media of the country trumpet about unemployment, while the number of the “wanted” advertisement grows every day. Specialists notice: employment policy has changed. While the main factor is that the employers are not satisfied with education level of the potential workers. In other words, numerous universities, academies and colleges produce potential clients of labour exchange.

The figures are sad. According to sociologists, last year, three fourth of Bishkek state universities’ graduates could not find a job. Private institutions of higher education do not give such figures while protecting their reputation, though, according to some polls, the situation is even worse there, especially in regional universities.

Information of the State Employment Service presents a disturbing picture. If in 2000, 15,100 graduates became jobless, in 2001, this figure grew up to 18,000. Nevertheless, about 20 new universities appeared, so now, 43 institutions of higher education work and about 150 its branches. It is even senseless to compare the figures with Soviet times, when only 8 institutes and one university worked in the republic. Though, that institutes prepared really demanded specialists.

Today, in almost every institute of hither education there are economy and jurisprudence faculties, while many thousand managers and lawyers have been already produced. But, it is hard to chose a real specialist of this army of graduates, because they are being prepared by professors of the same low level. And who actually will work for that universities, if professors earn about 12-15 dollars a month? Though, the process has started. This summer 20 thousand more graduates enter the labour market. While yesterday schoolchildren come to their place. But only a small part of them will find the desired job, while the rest will fill up the rows of jobless, who now make up piquet and meetings and sometimes block highways. Therefore, the Kirghuiz authorities grow their opposition and heat the situation in the country.

Yury Razgulaev PRAVDA.Ru Bishkek Kirghizia

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/06/17/42735.html