VZCZCXRO3273
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0928/01 2041244
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221244Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1205
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4058
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1875
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1742
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2311
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2715

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000928 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB 
TREASURY FOR BAKER/LANIER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON SOCI SCUL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: LIMITED EMPLOYMENT/EDUCATIONAL 
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
REF: A. ASHGABAT 0704 
     ¶B. ASHGABAT 0812 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Young people graduating from Turkmenistan's 
system of secondary education, as well as those who 
participated in exchanges, are often frustrated by too few 
opportunities for employment or advancement to higher 
education.  Very restrictive university entry requirements 
(including the need to speak fluent Turkmen), the lack of 
employment opportunities, and the need for government 
connections to get a job are forcing many families to seek 
futures for their children outside of Turkmenistan.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
FEW EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND LOW WAGES 
 
¶3. (SBU) Employment opportunities are few and far between, 
especially for students coming straight out of secondary 
school and from foreign universities.  The need to speak 
fluent Turkmen and low-paying wages force some of the best 
and brightest young people, returning from top foreign 
universities, to accept work way below their skill level. 
For example, one individual currently works for a U.S.-based 
non-profit organization in a field unrelated to his 
undergraduate and graduate degrees rather than deal with the 
extremely low wages and bureaucratic rules for promotion for 
teachers in local schools and universities.  In order to 
qualify for promotion from a base salary as a music teacher, 
he would have to work for a minimum of five years as an 
entry-level teacher with a salary that, on average, ranges 
from $175 to $211 a month.  New graduates often face the 
choice between working in their field or making an adequate 
living.  This is further complicated by the fact that jobs 
are difficult to find under most circumstances. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Doctors face similar problems.  In many instances, 
they choose to leave Turkmenistan for other countries, 
especially Russia, or apply for more lucrative positions in 
other lines of work, when available.  There is more than one 
local employee at the Embassy who was trained as a doctor, 
some even in specialty fields, who can make more money 
working in GSO than at a local hospital.  One local 
employee's brother moved to Russia to start an Ear, Nose, and 
Throat practice, because he could not make enough money as a 
doctor in Turkmenistan. 
 
MANY STUDENTS CANNOT QUALIFY FOR TURKMEN UNIVERSITIES 
 
¶5. (SBU)  There is great demand for admission into 
Turkmenistan's institutions of higher learning, because 
students are guaranteed jobs upon graduation.  In order to 
get into a university or institute, the student has to meet 
the "real" admissions requirements as well as any academic 
qualifications.  Students need to know someone to get into 
the school, and bribes remain common and costly. 
Furthermore, students are required to speak fluent Turkmen in 
order to qualify for admission, which poses a hurdle for many 
non-ethnic Turkmen students.  Each year there are 
approximately 110,000 secondary school graduates who compete 
for approximately 6,500 slots for admission to local Turkmen 
universities and intergovernmental programs to study abroad 
in Russia, Turkey, China, and Malaysia. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Many parents, especially those that are not ethnic 
Turkmen, speak of their frustration and the need to send 
their children to other countries in order to attain a 
post-secondary education, primarily because of the language 
requirement for admission.  And there are some ethnic Turkmen 
families that feel more comfortable using Russian.  Since 
Russian-language classes  (coursework taught in Russian) in 
schools have a better reputation for educating students, 
 
ASHGABAT 00000928  002 OF 002 
 
 
parents try to get their children into these classes. 
(COMMENT: It is very difficult for children with two Turkmen 
parents to get into the Russian-language classes. 
Nevertheless, parents are willing to pay bribes so that their 
children can get in those courses.  END COMMENT.)  Despite 
the good foundational education the children receive, they 
often graduate without fluency in Turkmen.  Families in this 
situation have no other choice but to send their children to 
Russia or other countries to attend university.  Predictably, 
many do not return to Turkmenistan, further adding to the 
country's "brain drain." 
 
¶7. (SBU) When the choice is made to send a child abroad, 
families may have to split in order to give their children 
better opportunities than are available in Turkmenistan.  For 
example, one man's wife is Russian, and he sent his entire 
family to Russia in order to give his oldest son the 
opportunity to get a higher education.  The boy could not 
qualify for Turkmen universities due to the language 
requirement.  The father said that he plans to join them 
after he is able to save some money, and he stated that there 
are no opportunities for children in Turkmenistan, especially 
if they only speak Russian.  He has two other children in 
Turkmenistan who he will have to leave behind in order to be 
with his wife and younger children.  Such choices are not 
uncommon in Turkmenistan, and they occur nationwide. 
 
FOREIGN-EDUCATED STUDENTS OFTEN LEAVE TURKMENISTAN 
 
¶8. (SBU) Another woman sent both of her children to 
universities in Russia, also because they do not speak 
Turkmen.  Neither child is particularly interested in 
returning to Turkmenistan, and both are pursuing studies in 
areas that are not practical for finding jobs in Turkmen 
society.  One is studying psychology, which, as his mother 
put it, is impossible to use in a place like Turkmenistan. 
The woman's daughter continues to work in Russia in areas 
unrelated to her field of study in order to continue her 
education, and she will likely remain there after she 
graduates. 
 
¶9. (SBU) One U.S.-educated student, who returned at the 
beginning of July, found a job in her field of study, 
architecture.  However, she does not plan on staying in 
Turkmenistan for long, because she is not able to use most of 
her portfolio and has no options other than low-paid 
government work.  Another student works in Afghanistan, 
because she is unable to find a job in Turkmenistan.  She 
only returns to visit her family.  Educated Turkmen often 
turn to international organizations and businesses in order 
to earn wages that match their education levels, unless they 
hold a particularly valued skill, such as architecture. 
Without opportunities in Turkmenistan, students leave for 
better ones wherever they can find them. 
 
¶10. (SBU) COMMENT:  Despite efforts at reform, economic and 
educational opportunities for young people remain limited. 
There is significant frustration with the lack of jobs in the 
private sector, the inability to use much of the knowledge 
obtained abroad, and the need to know someone in order to get 
a decent paying job.  As long as this remains the case, many 
of the country's best and brightest may try to seek their 
fortunes abroad.  END COMMENT. 
CURRAN