Horizons of Regional Education and a Glimpse into the Day After Tomorrow
ORIENT | Analysis. A ministerial roundtable held in Ashgabat, which brought together the heads of education agencies from Central Asian countries and Mongolia, has outlined the contours of profound changes in the humanitarian architecture of the entire macro-region.
This meeting—initiated by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and supported by the Turkmen side—did more than just continue a long-standing tradition of dialogue, which began two decades ago in Tashkent; it also demonstrated a fundamentally new level of strategic thinking, one in which education is viewed as a key factor for long-term stability, security, and mutual trust.
At a time when the region’s heads of state are meeting regularly at the highest level—from Samarkand and Dushanbe to the recent, significant consultations held on the Turkmen coast in Avaza—educational diplomacy is naturally emerging as the foundation upon which a future of good-neighborly relations is being built.
When addressing the core of the issues under discussion, one cannot help but notice how deeply intertwined the matters of language, the economy, and social cohesion have become today. The school classroom is, in many respects, a mirror of the future of society as a whole; it is here that the initial—often subtle—seeds are sown for either future mutual understanding or alienation.
As OSCE High Commissioner Christophe Kamp pointedly observed in his policy statement, three decades of continuous monitoring have consistently shown that the very first, barely perceptible signs of growing tension emerge within the classroom—often because a child who does not understand the language of instruction finds themselves isolated from school life.
When a child is excluded from the full educational process simply because they do not understand the language in which instruction is delivered, it is not merely their individual academic performance that suffers.
Global experience, supported by authoritative research from the World Bank, convincingly demonstrates that educating children in a language they do not fully understand leads to a massive loss of human capital, diminishes the economic prospects of nations, and creates barriers between people.
Conversely, a sensible balance—where schools provide a solid foundation in a child’s native language while simultaneously ensuring full proficiency in the official state language—fosters a strong sense of belonging to one’s country among the younger generation.
It is within this framework that the true essence of multilingual education is revealed. Participants in the meeting rightly described it not as a rigid, dogmatic template, but as a flexible toolkit that can be adapted to the specific circumstances of each individual country. For Central Asia and Mongolia, multilingualism is not an artificial innovation, but a historical reality that has shaped the way of life for the peoples living together in the region—a process in which the Great Silk Road played a significant role.
The success of such a policy depends on the ability of educational systems to carefully guide a child from one language to another—preserving the linguistic heritage of minorities while simultaneously strengthening the position of the state language as the primary key to the labor market and public life.
This approach requires significant practical effort, ranging from training educators in methods for teaching a language as a second language, to developing modern multimedia materials and establishing regional systems for assessing the quality of knowledge.
The Joint Communiqué adopted following the meeting reflects the participating countries' readiness to take concrete action—whether through the appointment of permanent coordinators within their respective ministries or the planning of practical workshops for the coming years. Turkmenistan, which is implementing an ambitious, long-term strategy for the development of higher professional education—with a planning horizon extending to the middle of the century—is setting a rapid pace for this process.
In the words of Turkmenistan’s Minister of Education, Jumamyrat Gurbangeldyyev, the development of multilingual education must take into account the specific national characteristics and priorities of each country, ensuring a harmonious balance between the study of the state language, respect for native languages, and the acquisition of foreign languages.
Yet, as we evaluate these significant and timely measures, one cannot help but wonder what the next—truly breakthrough—stage of integration among Central Asian states might look like in terms of planning for foreign language education.
Traditional forms of cooperation—such as isolated student exchanges, reciprocal faculty visits, or short-term seminars—while undoubtedly useful, are gradually becoming a thing of the past. We must begin preparing for the future—a time when the very logic of the region’s development will necessitate a pooling of efforts toward long-term joint planning and human resource development.
This future can be envisioned as a network of "guiding beacons," where each state in the region—having attained a position of clear superiority and recognized authority in a specific scientific, technological, or industrial field—serves as a primary hub of support for all its neighbors.
The countries of Central Asia are successfully pursuing various paths of economic development in parallel. While this trend is certain to continue, we believe that, in the future, there will be little need for each individual nation to invest massive financial resources into every single field of higher education.
Looking ahead—and taking into account the integration processes currently underway in the region—those countries that possess more advanced expertise in specific areas could serve as primary hubs for human capital development across the entire macro-region. They could enroll students and train specialists with a clear focus on the projected economic needs of their neighbors over the next five to ten years. Such collaborative planning would transform Central Asia into a unified, self-sufficient, and competitive scientific and educational cluster.
In this vision of the future, multilingual education—the central theme of the discussions in Ashgabat—takes on a profound and genuine significance. It serves not merely as a humanitarian initiative, but as an indispensable linguistic and cultural foundation for broad regional integration.
After all, it is precisely the fluent command of the languages of one’s neighbors—and beyond—coupled with a respect for their cultural codes, that will enable future engineers, scientists, and managers to study seamlessly at key regional centers. This will help dissolve mental barriers and foster a strong, cohesive, and successful community, capable of meeting any challenge the times may bring.
As for the state of foreign language learning within Turkmenistan itself, the current landscape is remarkably vibrant and diverse—a situation well worth highlighting as an exemplary model.
At the Dovletmammed Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages—a specialized linguistic higher education institution—the range of languages offered for study is exceptionally broad. In addition to traditional Eastern languages such as Japanese and Korean, students actively study Chinese, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hindi, and others, bringing the total to around fifteen different languages.
The institute hosts several specialized centers, including the King Sejong Institute (a center for the Korean language), language laboratories, and a UNESCO club called "Languages of the World." Furthermore, the study of two foreign languages is a mandatory component of the curriculum.
This trend is also reflected at the Magtymguly Turkmen State University, where the institution’s research center institution’s research center offers instruction in Russian, English, French, German, Italian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and Chinese.
This trend is also being embraced by the Magtymguly Turkmen State University, where the research center offers instruction in Russian, English, French, German, Italian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and Chinese.
The pedagogical sector is keeping pace as well. At the Seyitnazar Seydi Turkmen State Pedagogical Institute, a program for the study of Chinese has been established, alongside training for specialists in English, Russian, German, and Persian.
This profound interest in Eastern and European languages across various Turkmen higher education institutions—including technical universities—is driven by the country’s long-term foreign economic and strategic priorities. Active economic partnership requires professionals capable of working at the intersection of complex engineering disciplines and foreign languages; consequently, language proficiency is evolving from an optional skill into a powerful tool for professional advancement.
An example of such integration is the Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan, where the educational model draws upon Japanese experience. During their first two years, students undergo intensive, mandatory language training in English and Japanese before moving on to specialized technical subjects. The university also incorporates a dedicated secondary school where students begin studying Japanese from the first grade.
A similar approach is employed at the Yagshygeldy Kakayev International Oil and Gas University. A specialized department there offers instruction in Japanese, Chinese, Russian, English, and German, engaging international experts and leveraging methodological support from linguistic universities—all with the goal of granting future oil and gas engineers complete professional autonomy.
Looking closely at this large-scale endeavor, it becomes clear that the linguistic foundation currently being built is not merely a perfunctory nod to globalization; rather, it is a deliberate step toward a future—a "day after tomorrow"—of regional cooperation.
When the educational systems of various nations look beyond their own borders and open their doors to the languages and cultures of their neighbors and strategic partners, they lay the groundwork for a new era. In this era, joint economic and technological projects across Central Asia and Mongolia will be supported by highly qualified professionals who share a common language—a language of trust and constructive development.
Bekdurdy AMANSARYEV, Center for Strategic Studies, Institute of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan
