VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAH #1094/01 2931142
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201142Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7921

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001094 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY), SCA/PPD, EUR/ACE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ETRD TX TNGD KPAO ECON
SUBJECT: FORCED GAIETY AND DOG-EARED ENGLISH BOOKS IN MARY WELAYAT 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U) Emboff and P/E Assistant traveled to Mary Welayat (province) 
September 21-22 as part of mission trips to Turkmenistan's welayats 
to learn about education and cotton.  The short, host 
government-structured trip consisted of visits to School #1, School 
#15 and to Mary's Agricultural Joint-Stock Company.  The school 
visits confirmed suspicions that teachers lack adequate materials to 
teach English effectively and have little power over lesson content 
and structure due to ever-increasing political pressure within the 
education sector.  The meeting at the Mary Agricultural Joint-Stock 
Company yielded what post believes to be accurate expectations about 
the coming year's even more disappointing cotton yields and crop 
distribution, and the official line on last year's disappointing 
harvest and subsequent government subsidies. End Summary. 
 
MARY: READY AND WAITING TO DEFLECT OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The trip began with a visit to specialized school #1 in Mary 
city, where Emboff and LES were regaled at the entrance to the 
school with a proclamatory reading from the Ruhnama by a band of 
uniformed and smiling seven-year-old students.  The stiffness and 
artificiality of the greeting set the tone for the visit to both 
schools, during which Emboff was shepherded by the Ministry of 
Education's top welayat-level representative ("oblano") Tanryguly 
Myratlyev; welayat hakimlik administrative officer Ashyr Charyevich; 
and Ministry of Foreign Affairs chaperone Azat Niyazmuhammedov. 
Despite the elaborate welcome at School #1, Myratlyev seemed 
prepared for a grilling from Emboff and responded quickly and 
extensively to all questions.  The oblano interpreted Emboff offers 
of resource and specialist assistance in English teaching as a 
criticism, stating more than once that this school and all others in 
the region are exceptionally well-equipped, that the level of 
education was as high as it could be and that all teachers and 
pupils in the region were grateful to the "Great Leader" - President 
Saparmurat Niyazov - for his care. 
 
¶3. (U) According to the oblano, there are 27 schools in Mary 
Welayat, two of which are specialized - one laying an emphasis on 
technical subjects and School #1, which teaches German.  There are 
1300 students in School #1, and 80 teachers, 60 of which, the oblano 
was quick to point out, had higher education.  School #15 has 1050 
students, 40% of which are ethnic Russian.  A similar percentage 
holds true for the school's teachers.  The oblano volunteered that 
there were enough schools in Mary that every child had a short walk 
to school, which did not explain how specialized schools might be 
selective about admitting students from various regions of Mary. 
 
MARY SCHOOLS HAVE ALL THE BASICS AND MORE! 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (U) The oblano and school directors declared that Turkmenistan's 
schools provided exceptional sports and arts education and extensive 
extracurricular activities.  The basic curriculum also includes 
math, sciences, English, Turkmen and Russian language classes and a 
mandatory class on the Ruhnama.  School #15 had its curriculum 
painted on a wall in its entry foyer. 
 
¶5.  (U) Both schools are part of InfoTuk, a UN-sponsored program 
that provides computers, basic computer training and ultimately 
Internet connectivity to select state schools across Turkmenistan. 
(Note: The InfoTuk program thus far extends to 10 secondary schools 
in Ashgabat and Mary, n one of which have Internet access. End 
Note.)  Emboff was ushered with pride into the School #1 computer 
classroom, which had about ten computers, and into the two computer 
labs in School #15, each of which had at least six computers. 
 
CLASSROOM TOUR: LIVING THE GOLDEN AGE 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Emboff visited several classrooms, including those for 
Ruhnama, Russian, Turkmen and English, a library, computer lab, gym 
and the cafeteria.  Students in each classroom stood at attention 
and recited a short greeting in English as if apprised beforehand of 
this "inspection."  The teachers in the classrooms appeared nervous 
and avowed their gratitude at Emboff's visit.  Each classroom 
contained a Ruhnama corner or space on a classroom wall with a 
quotation from the book and pictures of the president or members of 
his family.  The small one-room school library was filled with books 
in Russian or Turkmen written in Cyrillic and samples of the 
president's own works. 
 
¶7.  (U) The director of School #15 took Emboff down the "Ruhnama 
Hall," which was decorated with bas-relief open books depicting 
scenes from the Ruhnama with explanatory quotations below each 
scene.  The school received last year's prize for best Ruhnama 
exhibit among schools in Mary. 
 
ENGLISH TEACHING: TEACHERS WITHOUT RESOURCES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) In response to Emboff's request to speak to teachers at 
School #1, the school director brought six visibly nervous English 
teachers into the director's office and told them to present 
themselves to Emboff.  All of the teachers brought to meet Emboff 
had a higher degree in English but most spoke in labored English. 
(Note: Peace Corps Volunteers and LES at post report that English 
teachers frequently possess only elementary English themselves.  End 
Note.)  The teachers reiterated the party line that they needed 
nothing from the Embassy or its partners, although they frequently 
looked to their director and the oblano for reassurance that their 
tack was correct.  One teacher - the only male - broke from the 
script and suggested that the embassy set up a library of English 
language materials within the school for sustaining a school English 
club.  Emboff urged the teacher to contact the embassy for 
information on how to do this, but did not press the point for fear 
of endangering the teacher, who had startled the school director by 
speaking up. 
 
¶9.  (U) The host government sets the curriculum for both regular and 
specialized state schools, and develops all textbooks.  (Note: 
Post's primary working contact at the Ministry of Education, Nury 
Bayramov, has written at least one of the textbooks used in 
secondary schools; his English is poor.  End Note.)  Emboff spotted 
a heavily used copy of the Peace Corps Turkmenistan-produced TEFL 
Resources for Teachers in the English classroom viewed at School 
#15, but few other textbooks.  (Note: In response to a stated need 
from local teachers, the American Corner in Mary has visited most 
schools in Mary and conducted training on use of this resource.  End 
Note.) 
 
COTTON HARVEST 2006: AVOIDING LAST YEAR'S MISTAKES 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶10.  (U) Following the school visits Emboff and LES paid a visit to 
the Mary Agricultural Joint-Stock Company, where a discussion with 
Company Director Mr. Yazdurdyev included the requisite positive spin 
about crop yields, sales prospects and  farmers' attitudes toward 
government policy. 
 
¶11.  (U) The company controls about two-thirds of the 180,000 
hectares of land planted with cotton in Mary Welayat, with the Mary 
Textile Complex controlling the other 48,000 hectares of cotton 
fields.  Of this about a quarter of the Company's crop is fine fiber 
cotton, which fetches 20,000 manats (about 80 cents)/kg raw or 
40,000 manats (about $1.60)/kg as fiber; regular cotton fetches half 
the price of fine cotton.  All cotton is sold on the cotton exchange 
at fixed prices, which have risen over last year's because of host 
government attempts to encourage farmers to harvest more cotton than 
they did last year.  Farmers should be paid in December 2006. 
 
¶12.  (U) The company's representatives insisted that all cotton 
sales were already accounted for, with companies such as Reinhart, 
Olam, Dunavant, based in Germany and Switzerland, buying most of the 
crop.  The company's representatives acknowledged the difficulties 
in the harvest payment terms during 2005 but were positive that 2006 
would be different (Comment:  2006 is worse.  End Comment).  This 
year, the AJSC had to use letter of credit terms.  Next year, buyers 
will be willing to make advance payments, because "they now know 
us." 
 
¶13.  (U) There are 46,000 tenants working by contract with the 
company, and the company said there are growing numbers of families 
in Mary who grow cotton on their personal lands because it is 
profitable.  Hand-picking is preferred for the harder-to-harvest 
fine cotton; the company uses both hand-picking and combines for 
harvesting.  After the meeting, Ashyr Charyevich took Emboff on a 
tour of two nearby cotton fields -- one that had been sown with 
mostly fine and some regular cotton, and the other with regular 
cotton.  In the latter there was a family with a mother and a couple 
of her children hand-picking the cotton.  (Note: The Mary American 
Corner's planned TEFL Resources training for the teachers of 
Turkmengala region is on hold in October because teachers around 
Mary are required to help harvest cotton at this time.  End Note.) 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶13.  (U) While trying to present a united front against embassy 
outreach efforts, the education officials and teachers Emboff met in 
Mary revealed the stark fear under which they daily operate, in 
contrast with representatives at the much more relaxed atmosphere 
Agricultural Joint-Stock Company meeting.  Subsequent to the day's 
meetings, Azat Niyazmuhammedov told FSN that he had hinted to 
Emboff's hosts that they should "show true Mary hospitality" -- an 
exhortation that likely resulted in the embarrassingly forced 
display of welcome at Schools #1 and #15.  At the end of the visit 
to School #1, the school director took a framed photo montage off 
the wall in her office and showed it with aggressive pride to 
Emboff: it was a collage of photograph cutouts depicting President 
Niyazov and children from the school on the tarmac at Mary Airport. 
Although a clearly fabricated "photograph," the Director took pains 
to point out details in the farcical photo to Emboff and proclaim 
that the Great Leader had graced the school with a visit -- evidence 
of the president's high regard for education.  Clearly the anxiety 
with which administrators try to cover up a lack of materials and 
access to modern teaching methods reveals that the opposite is true. 
 End Comment. 
 
¶14.  (U) Dushanbe minimize considered. 
 
BRUSH