Can Russia compete with the West for Asian students?

Slon is conducting a joint project with the international network of scientists “ Ponars Eurasia ”, whose participants are developing new approaches to politics and security in Russia and Eurasia. As part of this project, we publish analytical articles of Ponars, among which are famous political scientists, historians and sociologists from the USA, Europe, Russia and other CIS countries. This is another view of Russia, its policy and its politicians. Today we publish a new material of the series-an article by Douglas Bloom from Providen College about how Russia and the West compete for Asian students.

Students from Central Asia: between Russia and the West

The growing level of xenophobia and a decrease in educational standards force young people from Central Asia to think seriously before going to study in Russia. At the same time (and partly therefore), the prospect of learning in the West is becoming increasingly popular. However, many students who would like to visit the university in the United States scare away problems that limit this opportunity. Therefore, today the United States has the opportunity to stimulate the influx of Central Asian youth in American universities. The result of these steps will be not only the creation of an international network for future cooperation, but also pressure on Russia, forcing it to the necessary educational and social reforms.

Students from Central Asia for a long time - both in the Soviet and in the post -Soviet period - flocked to Russian universities. With any counting today, there are still many foreign students throughout Russia (estimates vary from 130 to 160 thousand people). According to Rosstat for 2011-2012 (this is the latest available data), among foreign students enrolled in Russian universities, there were 28,300 Kazakhstanis (it is not known how many of them are ethnic Kazakhs), 10,700 students from Uzbekistan, 9,900 from Turkmenistan, 6,500 from Tajikistan and 2800 from Kyrgyzstan. However, it seems that serious changes ahead.

In the past, it was believed that Russian higher education has a quality mark and guarantees students from Central Asia to get to the privileged positions of the house, as well as in privileged structures abroad. In recent years, however, this has become more and more doubt as Central Asian students are faced with an increasing number of problems on the path to obtaining a Russian university diploma. Among these problems are xenophobia, which is largely aimed precisely at immigrants from Central Asia, as well as a decreasing quality of education in Russian universities.

As for the quality, Russian pedagogy - with its traditional emphasis, is more likely on didactism than on the development of independent critical thinking - today it is increasingly considered mediocre. In the world rating of Times universities for 2013-2014, which includes 400 educational institutions, only one Russian University is included - Moscow State University. Lomonosov (in a group of places from 226 to 260). In addition, the previously highly appreciated Russian technical competence today is mainly considered as far from advanced. As a result, the reputation of many once prestigious Russian universities decreased significantly.

Xenophobia manifests itself in many respects: household racism, sometimes the bias of teachers, often - oppression by the police. In the past twenty years, migration has has a huge impact on Russia. Now, according to estimates, about 13-14 million migrants are in the country. The vast majority are citizens of post -Soviet states who can legally enter Russia without a visa and stay in the country for up to three months. According to the FMS of Russia, of the total number of migrants 13-14 million, about 2.5 million profit from Uzbekistan, more than a million from Tajikistan and 550 thousand from Kyrgyzstan. Many experts consider these figures underestimated. However, regardless of numbers, the main meaning is clear: there are many migrants from Central Asia, and this is clearly visible on the streets of the main Russian cities.

In such situations, one of the predictable results arising around the world is the outrage of migrants and a feeling of resentment against them, especially if they are considered competitors in the struggle for scarce jobs. In the Russian case, this factor is combined with many years of suspicion of strangers, recently aggravated by anxiety about terrorism and fear of losing Russian cultural identity during globalization.

In the past few years, a sharp increase in racist attacks by skinheads has been noted. But hostile attitude is dominated by the population as a whole. This is confirmed by public opinion polls: during a survey conducted in June 2013, 35% of respondents called immigration the main threat to the national security of Russia (in the first place among other factors). Moreover, when in the course of a recent survey the Russians asked how they relate to the hypernationalist slogan “Russia for Russians”, 20% expressed firm support to him, while almost 70% expressed a negative attitude towards other ethnic groups.

Of course, such opinions are transferred to the social environment that foreign students face. Alas, intolerance exists not only among students: there are many statements about discrimination from teachers. Migrants cannot count on support from the authorities: a lot of complaints are also filed on violent actions by the police, who often takes students for workers-migrants. Unfortunately, there are few chances to improve the situation in the near future, since xenophobic sentiments are often fueled by politicians. We can recall how the Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, as part of his re -election campaign, accused the migrants of a sharp increase in crime and said : “Moscow is a Russian city, and it should remain like that. Not Chinese, not Tajik and not Uzbek. <...> People who speak Russian poorly, who have a completely different culture, live in their own country. "

As a result, the idea of ​​entering the university in Russia seems to be less promising youth from Central Asia. In addition, negative aspects of training in Russia are emphasized by the presence of alternatives, the most attractive of which are universities in the USA, Western Europe and Turkey. And it seems to be the USA and Europe that seems to be put forward, since the Central Asian authorities (especially in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) are more and more preoccupied with radical Islamism among students returning from the countries of the Muslim majority, including from Turkey. For all these reasons, training in the United States is increasingly becoming the main option for ambitious students from Central Asia. According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), since 2000 there has been a significant increase in the number of American students who came from this region. Although absolute numbers remain insignificant: the IMO data show that in 2012-2013 3188 students from Central Asia studied in the United States, including 1969 from Kazakhstan, 445 from Uzbekistan, 312 from Tajikistan, 261 from Kyrgyzstan and 178 from Turkmenistan.

At the same time, it is difficult for many well -trained young people from Central Asia to realize their dream of studying at an American university. One of the problems is visa restrictions that unnecessarily complicate many students with the opportunity to enter the country or stay in it for a long time to achieve their educational and professional goals. Foreign students may be denied a visa on the basis of the assumption of their “double intention” (when a refusal to issue a visa may be justified by the concern that the student will not return to their homeland). Serious complications can also cause relief tests among students from Muslim countries.

Another obstacle (often irresistible) is financial difficulties. Central Asian states provide students with some financing, but competition for it is very high, and people with “ties” are often won in this struggle. That is, many suitable candidates depend on outside assistance, but often it is insufficient both due to the reduction of US government programs and due to the fact that university’s own resources are often limited. Fulbright and masks funded by the state offer a very small number of scholarships, and all of them are designed for postgraduate training. The international student exchange program is available to a very small number of students (approximately 125 students from Central Asia annually). Many colleges and universities offer their own scholarships or serve as guides to help other donors. However, increasing the chances of receiving such a grant requires the submission of many applications, which is technically difficult, and to submit statements in several colleges is expensive in itself.

An additional obstacle to potential applicants is a lack of information about available options. There are many private sponsors, for example, the Aga Khan Foundation or the Foundation for the International Development of OPEC, but most of them are little known, and it would be unrealistic to expect that applicants from Central Asia will learn about them on their own. The US State Department is sponsored by the Education in the USA, but he simply aggregates many opportunities to receive financial assistance - often facing an impasse and extremely specific.

By virtue of these obstacles, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan took steps to develop an “internationalized education” in their own countries - both attracting foreign experts and providing special support to selected higher schools (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Forecasting in Almaty, American University of Bishkek and the International Business School of Business in Bishkek. Tashkent). These steps are partially financed by the American Education Fund in Central Asia. But two important problems remain: the quality of education is more likely to be inferior to what is available in American educational institutions, and sociocultural experience is far from reaching the one that can be acquired in the United States.

For the US government, this is a profitable opportunity to offer students from Central Asia a more large -scale and affordable financing. Firstly, this will stimulate mutually beneficial economic and other transnational ties, would greatly contribute to the integration of these countries into a global economy, including the diversification of their economies and a decrease in dependence on natural resources (after all, graduates returning to their countries occupy leading positions in different fields). Secondly, this will push cultural and institutional changes in Central Asia in a direction desirable for the United States and improve the image of the United States in these countries.

Thirdly, all Central Asian states, each in their own way reacting to pressure from Russia and China, are trying to achieve a balance in foreign policy. This means, in particular, the opening of the West (at least to some extent), however, this possibility is limited, mainly due to the remoteness of the Central Asian countries. The concern of the countries of Central Asia is strengthened due to events in Ukraine, and local elites are well aware of the desilation of reducing dependence on Russia.

Fourth, this will increase the pressure on the Russian authorities in the context of the fight against xenophobia and the promotion of higher educational standards. Already today there are clear signs that the Russian government is trying to more actively attract foreign students, but so far we are talking mainly about a higher financing level, which will hardly bring a noticeable effect in solving key problems.

Even a modest increase in American education costs for foreign students can have a huge effect. Now the youth from Central Asia, it seems, is approaching the rotary point in terms of readiness and the opportunity to receive higher education abroad. And, despite the current budgetary restrictions, the expansion of the scale of grants financed by the state and simplifying the process of obtaining them would significantly contribute to the growth of students from Central Asia, which would bring numerous economic, cultural and political benefits.

Original article: Douglas Blum. Central Asian Students Between Russia and the West . Ponars Eurasia