Turkmen students studying at AUCA were rejected at airport en route to USA through U.S. State Dept. undergraduate program
Politics and Society, Turkmenistan5 Comments
AUCA - photo taken from www.auca.kg
Turkmen border officials rejected several AUCA students in Ashgabat who were traveling with a group of other Turkmen students – the winners of a one-year academic exchange visit though the U.S. State Department’s Freedom Support Act Undergraduate program (FSAU). They were taken off Lufthansa airplane, while other students from the same group but not affiliated with AUCA, were allowed to board the plane and made it to final destination.
The program is funded by the U.S. State Department and administered by International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). Every year the program takes up to 12 freshmen, sophomores and juniors from Turkmenistan. Considering AUCA’s intensive English language program, Turkmen students from this university have always been in the list of program’s finalists. They would usually go home in May to stay with their families until mid August and then leave to their U.S. colleges. Seems like this year they will stay in Turkmenistan for a bit longer than planned.
In the meantime, Neweurasia has learned about new immigration rules, which now don’t require students studying overseas obtain any permission to leave. Except students studying in Kyrgyzstan! Those who study in Kyrgyz state universities can leave without any obstacles, but the same can’t be said about AUCA students.
“You won’t leave! Quit your studies at AUCA and look for something else in Russia or Romania,” – Turkmen Ministry of education’s official said to students at the recent meeting in the ministry.
Romania has introduced a quota program for students coming from Turkmenistan after presidents Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov and Romania’s Trajan Basesku exchanged several official visits. Last year, according to Turkmen pro-governmental news Website www.turkmenistan.ru, 10 Turkmen students left for Ploiesti (Romania) to study at the University of Oil and Gas. All 10 students have made it through a strict selection committee, took Rukhnama examination, and were taken only in the university’s preparatory program.
“Who is going to take us to Romania? – AUCA students ask, - and who will reimburse us the money paid already for education, transportation and housing in Bishkek?”
While the students seek the answers to these questions, MobileTeleSystems (MTS) – Russian cellular operator in Turkmenistan – has blocked outgoing text messages on Kyrgyz Beeline and Megacom GSM providers.
“The Turkmen government has well prepared for this unannounced war with AUCA, – observers in Turkmenistan say, - and so far it is winning the war.”
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Any particular reason why the Turkmen government has soured on AUCA and not other Western-style regional universities like KIMEP or KAU?
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[...] Orazdurdy reports that Turkmen students studying at the American University in Central Asia (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) were rejected at airport en route to USA through U.S. State Dept. undergraduate program. Cancel this reply [...]
They do not know themself what they want.Turkmen government is full of corruption,so what you want from them
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Turkmen Government encourages prostitution and drug dealing,but discourages those who want to study at universities
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“The Turkmen government has well prepared for this unannounced war with AUCA, – observers in Turkmenistan say, - and so far it is winning the war.”
They had planned ahead but were ill-prapered, as a consequence, it was badly handled. ‘Cause what sense can you read into Tm government’s decision to send the students from AUCA to AUBG and other puzzling actions?
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