Chapter 7: The Changing Status of Faculty Work and Life in the Universities of Tajikistan

The life and working conditions of faculty currently teaching in Tajik higher education institutions is complex and multifaceted. By any standard, unfortunately, the collapse of the former Soviet Union has negatively impacted the status of the academic profession, as salaries and professional development opportunities have also spiraled downward. The post-Soviet demise in higher education (as well as secondary education) has been even further pronounced in Tajikistan than in many other former Soviet republics, due to the additional impact of a civil war, which occurred between 1992–1997. Drawing on the findings from education ministry data, NGO reports, our own fieldwork, and structured interview data in 2013, this chapter attempts to shed light upon the professional and personal lives of today’s Tajik faculty, paying particular attention to how their diminished social situations affects both their professional and personal occupational conditions and strategies for the future.