Torino Process 2018–2020 Tajikistan - National Report

In Tajikistan the labour market still has a labour surplus, meaning that the supply of labour is much greater than the demand for it; this is in spite of continued sustainable growth of the economy. From 2016 to 2018, the average annual growth rate of labour resources was 2.1%, with the number of employees increasing by only 0.6%. To speak in quantitative terms, if during this period the quantity of labour resources increased up to 208.5 thousand people, then the number of employed people only increased by 40.7 thousand – the later indicator is more than 5 times lower than the first.

The changes in these indicators during the last 10 statistically available years is shown in Figure B1.

One of the main problems in the labour market, as in employment of the population, is the expansion of the informal sector.

As per the outcomes of the Labour Force Survey (LFS, 2016), informal employment in the total employed population constitutes about 60%, which almost equally involves agrarian (30.6%) and non-agrarian (29.4%) sectors of the economy. In 2018, 60.9% of the total employed population were employed in the agricultural sector. Informal employees not engaged in the agricultural sector were almost equally distributed between the formal (46.6%) and informal (53.4%) sectors of the economy. Hence, based on the LFS 2016 data, beyond the agrarian sector, 116 178 people were informally employed in the country's formal sector. Overall, 75.9% of the informal employees (beyond the agrarian sector) are male, while 64.5% of them reside in rural areas.

 Another negative trend observed in this area is a decrease in the share of waged employment in the total number of employed people. Changes in the structure of the status of employed people for 2009 compared with 2016 are shown in Table B1.

As can be seen in the data in Table B1, in 2016, the share of waged employment decreased to 34.8% and the share of self-employed (excluding the category ‘employers’) increased to 54%. This testifies to the beginning of a period of ‘depression of the labour market’, since self-employment is something happening outside the labour market.

Yet one more problem in the sphere of employment of the population is the large number of unskilled labour. Analysis of the educational structure of those engaged in the country’s economy (refer to Table AB1 in the Appendices) demonstrates that 1.8% have no education, 13.8% have general basic education, 57.7% have general secondary education, 3.6% have primary professional/vocational education, 8.2% have secondary professional/vocational education, and 14.8% have Higher Education (HE). Hence, 73.3% of employed people have no professional education.

It has been noted in previous national reports on the Torino Process as well as in most state strategic documents (NSD-2030, p. 30; NSDE-2020) that the low level of qualifications of the workforce (the quality of human capital) and its incompatibility with the labour market and economic demands are key problems for the economy and need to be resolved as soon as possible.

A drop in the share of employed young people aged 19 to 25 is also a conventional problem in the employment sector in Tajikistan. According to the LFS 2016, the share of employed young people has been constantly decreasing, from 43.7% in 2004 to 37.4% in 2009 and to 31.1% in 2016.

One of the main problems is that so many labour market participants are employed in the agricultural sector, which traditionally has low wages. According to official statistics, the agricultural sector in 2017 accounted for 60.9% of all employed people, with the average monthly wage amounting to TJS 451.46, the equivalent of USD 52.8 (see Table AB2 in the Appendices).

At the same time, the service sector is gradually increasing its share of employment. Between the 2009 and 2016 labour force surveys, the service sector share in the total number of people employed in the economy increased by 7 pp, reaching 39% in 2016 (LFS, 2016).

The Government of Tajikistan views IVET as one of the most important components of its education system, as it supplies the national economy with a highly qualified workforce and makes a significant contribution to the development of the country’s socio-economic life and citizens’ prosperity. However, currently, serious problems have accumulated in the IVET system (NSDE-2020). As noted in the previous section, the underdevelopment of the labour force’s qualifications and its inadequacy to meet the needs of the labour market and the economy in general are of particular concern. This poses one of the main challenges to the country’s vocational education system in general, and to the VET system in particular. The low quality of vocational education and incompatibility of its content and final result with the needs of both the labour market and the economy as a whole are mentioned in all strategic state documents, which look at the development of both education and the economy in general. For instance, it is ascertained in the NSDE-2020 that the development of primary and SVET and the improvement of their quality are inhibited by:

• physically and contextually outdated educational and production bases;
• shortage of modern textbooks, teaching aids and other educational-methodological materials, especially in the official language;
• low level of qualifications of instructors and masters of industrial training;
• inadequate involvement of employers and other social partners in the formation of orders for the training of specialists, technical and service personnel; and
• lack of uniform basic regulatory and educational documents (professional standards, professional curricula and plans) for vocations and specialities.

The NSD-2030 establishes that with ‘the low quality and inefficient use of human capital, with the increasing coverage of the population in general secondary education, a shortage of qualified specialists in technical specialties is being observed; there is surplus employment in agriculture, the public sector and other sectors, while a significant part of qualified workers are forced to look for employment opportunities outside the country.’

Research on the impact of migration flows on the employment sector of Tajikistan demonstrates that the main force is represented by External Labour Migration (ELM) to foreign labour and service markets. Conventional migration growth in Tajikistan remains negative: that is, the number of those leaving the country exceeds the number of those arriving in the country. For example, in 2017, this indicator in the context of external migration was -2 738 people, or -0.3 per 1 000 people.

There is a significantly high rate of ELM and it clearly mitigates tension on the internal labour market. According to specialists’ estimations, ELM mitigates the tension on the internal labour market by five to six times (Ashurov, 2010). According to the LFS 2016, during the study term, 555.9 thousand members of the country’s labour force were abroad, which makes up for 26.5% of the employed labour force within the country (see Table AB3 in the Appendices). According to official statistics, in 2018 these indicators were 484.2 thousand and 20% respectively.

Many studies have shown that ELM provides a higher degree of social security and economic efficiency of labour migration.

In the strategic field of the VET system, there is yet to be progress in the upcoming digitalisation of the economy, envisaged in the official concept of e-Government in the Republic of Tajikistan. In addition, in May 2019, the government tasked the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade with developing a State Concept of the Digital Economy, as a result of which, at the end of 2019, the government adopted the Concept of the Digital Economy in the Republic of Tajikistan (Resolution #642 from 30 December 2019). This document covers a 20-year perspective – until 2040 – and divides the actions into three stages: the first until 2025, the second until 2030 and the third until 2040. This concept primarily calls for ‘the assessment and development of human capital necessary for digital transformation’. In this context, the first stage calls for ‘training highly qualified personnel and management staff for inducing digital projects, as well as creating a system for training qualified personnel both at universities and in enterprises, and for developing digital skills among the general population’. This sets forward a qualitatively new challenge for the country’s VET system.

The NSD-2030 (p. 47) states that ‘human capital is an important factor in development of production and the economy, and its quality is closely related to the development of all industries. It ranks first among the long-term factors in the development of the future economy (in comparison with natural resources, real and financial capital). In this regard, the development of human capital has been identified as a priority area for the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.’ This strategic document also states, in particular, that ‘Long-term prospects for the development of the education system of the Republic should be based on the following key principles and requirements: all levels of education have to meet quality standards; the quality and scale of vocational education should ensure the competitiveness of the country’s economy; there should be a close connection between the education system and the labour market, ensuring a balance of the supply of specialists of different levels with the demands of the labour market; the education system at all levels must contribute to the formation of knowledge and skills necessary for promotion of sustainable development.’

The potential of the VET system to respond to the demands of the economy, the labour market and society depends on four key factors: the regulatory system; the educational and methodological system; the material and technical training; and the staff base.

During the period under review of this report (2016 to 2020), through the joint efforts of the MLMEP and donor organisations (ADB and European Commission), significant positive shifts in the above-mentioned areas have been observed.

Analysis shows that in the period after the adoption of the State Standard for IVET up until 2017, professional standards for the IVET specialities were not developed. Since 2017, within the framework of the ADB project Strengthening IVET in the Republic of Tajikistan, professional standards (referred to as competence standards) have been set up for 10 specialities of IVET. It should be noted that these standards have been agreed with the respective 119 employer representatives and 833 industry experts in total. In 2019 and 2020, the plan was to develop such standards for another seven IVET specialities. In addition, specialists of the MLMEP in the period 2016 to 2019 developed professional standards for 16 IVET and AE specialities (In-depth Individual Interviews 1 and 2).

As for the material and technical training base of the system, significant improvements have also been achieved. Within the framework of the above-mentioned ADB project in the period 2017–2019, capital repairs of buildings and structures of IVET education institutions were carried out, and training equipment and tools were purchased. It should be noted that such achievements had not been previously observed (In-depth Individual Interview 1 and 2).

In the matter of strengthening the staff base of the system, noticeable positive shifts have also been observed. Within the framework of the European Commission’s project, Technical Assistance to the MLMEP in the Field of Advanced Training of Teachers of the System of Primary Vocational Education and Training in 2018, masters of industrial/vocational training underwent an advanced training course in sewing children’s school clothes. Nevertheless, one of the main factors hindering the sustainable development of the VET system is the poor quality of knowledge and skills of the Engineering Teaching Staff (ETS) (discussed in more detail later in the file).

The main problem in this direction is the low level of participation of employers in the training process. As noted in the national report on the Torino Process (TRP) in 2014, in 2012 the Parliament adopted the Law on Training Specialists Taking into Account the Needs of the Labour Market, which is designed to regulate the relationship between vocational education institutions and employers’ representatives and establish a permanent mechanism for matching the demand for vocational skills with their supply. However, as noted in the previous national TRP report for 2016–2017, the implementation mechanism for this legislative act has not yet been worked out.

Determining the demand for vocational skills and coordinating supply with demand remain key tasks for the development of the VET system in Tajikistan and require speedy resolution.

The active labour market policy is implemented through the Agency for Labour and Employment (the State Employment Service) under the MLMEP. Among the key components of this policy is vocational training and retraining, as well as training in entrepreneurial skills, which requires professional development. Traditionally, this process has involved the country’s IVET system, including VTLs and AECs of the MLMEP. It needs to be noted that from 2007 to 2013, when the IVET system functioned within the structure of the MES, it was divorced from the active labour market policy. In such a context, conventionally the SVET system, which functions within the MES, is not engaged in the realisation of active labour market policy measures.

Quantitative indicators of this process are shown in Table AB4. The data demonstrates that for 2016 to 2018, an average of about 45 000 people went through short-term vocational training or retraining courses in the IVET system, with the share of women accounting for about one-third.

Another area of ​​active labour market policy is promotion of self-employment of unemployed citizens by means of training them in entrepreneurial skills and providing them with interest-free loans to start their own business. In 2018, a total of 3 961 unemployed people benefited from these measures, with credit resources amounting to TJS 12 243.

One of the established and functioning methods of identifying employers’ professional skills requirements is the submission of vacancy details to the Agency for Labour and Employment of the Population by employers. This legislative norm is installed in Article 19 of the Law on Promoting Employment of the Population: ‘Employers must submit to the state employment agency information about all vacancies, in accordance with the qualification requirements established in organisations, up to ten days from the day of their appearance, as well as information about the movement of personnel and the actual number of employees.’ The procedure for providing such information is established by Decree #205 of 2 April 2009: Rules for the provision of information by employers on the availability of vacancies to state employment agencies).

Quantitative indicators of the implementation of this are shown in Tables AB5 and AB6 in the Appendices, wherefrom it follows that:

• in total, only 2.0% of enterprises and organisations in 2018 followed the legislative norm in place, and 76.1% of them were state legal entities, of which only 9.0% belonged to the industrial sector (see Table AB5); and
• in total, only 43.1% of the vacancies presented in 2018 related to blue-collar occupations, a 12 pp increase compared to 2016 (refer to Table AB6 in the Appendices), only 18.1% of which related to the industrial sector.

Despite the low rate of vacancies being announced, the Agency for Labour and Employment of the Population regularly analyses the professional structure of the vacancies presented by employers and provides educational institutions with this information. It needs to be mentioned that it is rarely possible to promptly fill these vacancies from unemployed people registered with the Agency, since they lack the appropriate vocational skills; according to official statistics for 2018, 79.6% of these unemployed people did not have vocational skills. At the same time, the share of unemployed people without VET has been increasing (see Figure B2).

The capacity per vacancy (the ratio of unemployed people to the announced vacancies) in 2018, in comparison with 2016, decreased by 0.5 pp and reached 5.3. In addition, since 2009, the Agency for Labour and Employment of the Population has been organising job fairs with the participation of employers, where some representatives of employers announce their vacancies. IVET institutions also participate in these fairs, advertising their services to employers and citizens. In 2018, 722 such events were organised (refer to Table AB7 in the Appendices).

This mechanism of identifying labour market demand is not sufficiently widespread such that a full-scale picture of the situation is not available in this important sphere.

As mentioned in section B.1.3, migration growth in Tajikistan has a negative value, and the main force in this is represented by ELM.

As mentioned in section A.3.2, the present trend of the flow of refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan does not create a significant context in Tajikistan’s socio-economic space. Approximately 4 500 Afghan refugees temporarily residing in Tajikistan are being integrated into society within the framework of a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) project. The main part of the project is to help employable refugees undergo vocational training in the MLMEP’s AECs (In-depth Individual Interview 3).

As for the outward flow of migrants from Tajikistan, as noted in B.1.3, ELM visibly mitigates the tension of the internal labour market.

In this regard, in the IVET system, special integrated three-component (vocational, cultural/linguistic, and legal) programmes to help prepare potential labour emigrants for the demands of foreign labour markets have been created (In-depth Individual Interview 1; 2). In addition, for official recognition of vocational skills acquired in the process of non-formal education, the government adopted Provision #568 from 5 December 2017 on the Procedure for Recognition (Validation) of Adult Competencies. This procedure mainly applies to ELMs who have acquired certain (quite low level) professional skills in the process of working. For this category of labour resource, for legal employment in the destination countries, there is a need for relevant official documents that confirm their level of qualifications.

As mentioned in B.1.1, the share of self-employed, excluding employers, in the total number of employed people in 2016 was 54%. Moreover, the analysis shows (refer to Tables AB1 and AB9 in the Appendices) that the share of those with primary and SVET among employed people is 11.8%, while among ELMs this is 8.3%. Under these conditions, graduates of the IVET system enter the self-employment sector. However, there is no data about the employment status of VET graduates.

Currently, in Tajikistan, there is nopractice of tracking the labour route of the VET graduates.

Taking into account the downward trend in the share of capacity of waged employment (refer to B.1.1), the central government encourages development of self-employment. The NSDE-2020 states that educational programmes in primary and SVET should include components on management and entrepreneurship. Moreover, it is envisaged in this strategic document that there should be ‘an updated education system, which, in accordance with modern global trends, is based not on knowledge, but on a competence-based approach, and which should provide the students with the opportunity to master key competencies and social skills, such as responsible decision-making and professional career planning, lifelong learning orientation, communication competencies, vocational training in high demand in the labour market, knowledge and skills necessary for self-employment, healthy lifestyle skills, as well as instill [in the students] the values of civil society.’

In practice, in the IVET system, entrepreneurship skills are taught through two-month specialised courses, Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship, amounting to 256 academic hours. In addition, the short-term vocational training courses include 12 academic hours on the Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship, while the same amount of time is given to this topic for one-year programmes in IVET (vocational lyceums).

The development of entrepreneurship in order to create jobs or promote self-employment also depends on the business climate. In this setting, the NSD-2030 establishes that there is an insufficiently favourable business climate due to excessive and ineffective regulations, corruption, excessive tax burdens, a high level of monopolisation, and limited protection of property rights and the rights of entrepreneurs. Although Tajikistan has made it onto the list of 10 countries with the greatest progress in reforms to support business, a ranking of 106 in the Ease of Doing Business (2019) report shows the lack of development of institutions in support of entrepreneurship. As a consequence, the investment and export potential of products with increased added value is not being utilised to the full. Today, the following conditions are necessary for doing business: creating conditions for the protection and guarantees of property rights and attracting direct investments, and effective management of assets.

As noted in section A.2.3, in almost all indicators, the IVET system in 2018 compared to 2016 has followed a downward trend. The same situation is observed in the AE system.

One of the main reasons for this is the low quality of education in the IVET system, which leads to unattractiveness of the sector. However, this trend is also affected by the low level of economic and financial literacy of the system’s target audience. IVET participants in general are from poorer backgrounds and have a poor level and quality of base education; in most cases, they are also not able to optimally plan and follow their chosen labour career. This situation is also worsened by the poor level of awareness of the opportunities and prospects for training in professional skills (Focus Group Discussion (FGD) 1).

Another factor that influences accessibility of the VET system is the lack of flexible training technologies and approaches, such as modular training, which allows learning ‘piece by piece’ for a certain level of qualifications.

Setting up mechanisms for the official recognition of professional skills acquired in the process of non-formal training can also contribute to raising the level of accessibility of VET (see B.1.6 for more detail).

Another factor affecting the availability of VET is the limited capacity of the system to attract people with disabilities.

At the same time, the degree of youth participation in the SVET subsystem has seen an upward trend. The analysis given in section A.2.3 shows that the changes in almost all of the SVET base indicators for the period 2016 to 2018 are positive. This is due to the fact that this subsystem is more oriented towards humanitarian vocations (90% in health care and education), in contrast to IVET, which is directed at engineering, technology and production.

Furthermore, the SVET subsystem has been getting closer to the HE system, with a tendency for SVET institutions to enter the structure of higher education institutions. Also, according to the functioning rules, graduates from secondary vocational schools can be admitted to a higher education institution based on the results of an interview without taking entrance exams (FGD 1).

As mentioned in the previous section and noted in previous national TRP reports, the IVET system mainly takes in citizens from low-income and socially vulnerable family categories. Orphans and minors without parental care with low levels of base education are conventionally seen as ‘clients’ of this system. This is evidenced by the fact that it is in the Law on Primary Vocational Education that special attention is paid to individuals from this category. This law devotes a separate chapter – Chapter 4 – to the support of the most vulnerable citizens (people with disabilities, orphans and minors without parental care, and forced migrants).

As indicated in section B, the key problem of the VET system of Tajikistan is the poor quality of education, which, in particular, hinders broader access to the system.

If attention is paid to the content of the two leading projects implemented in the IVET system (the Technical Assistance to the MLMEP and the Strengthening of Vocational Education and Training), it becomes clear that they are aimed precisely at improving the quality of education in the IVET system. For example, the ADB project, in particular, has begun the process of altering dormitories to increase the accessibility of the VET system for girls, especially those from remote districts.

In other fields, measures that have an impact on the accessibility of the VET system have not been observed.

The IVET subsystem tends to focus on vulnerable and marginalised groups. Chapter 4 of the Law on Primary Vocational Education, which is called ‘Primary vocational education of persons who are provided with special social security’, includes people with disabilities, orphans and minors without parental care and forced migrants in its category of socially vulnerable citizens.

Article 21 establishes that ‘the state guarantees orphans, minors left without parental care and forced migrants preferential right to enter the institutions of primary public vocational educational. For the period of study in public primary vocational educational institutions, the state assumes additional costs for their training and maintenance.’

Article 23 states that ‘For the training, education and treatment of adolescents with disabilities in physical development, as well as children with disabilities, specialised educational institutions of primary vocational education will be created. Students of public specialised educational institutions enjoy full support of the state.’

In practice, this chapter of the law gives vulnerable people access to vocational and technical lyceums. Since Soviet times, the only special vocational and technical educational institution for persons with disabilities has been in the city of Dushanbe, which has an educational base for four specialities.

A quantitative analysis of this category of students in the IVET system (refer to Table AC1 in the Appendices) reveals that annually, on average, 1 500 orphans and disabled people study in educational institutions.

The analysis demonstrates that annually about 85 000 young people, after completing the GBE (grade 9) and GSE (grade 11), do not fall within the conventional vocational education system. This category of young people, who either could not or did not want to continue their studies, desire to enter the labour market as soon as possible and find employment (Ashurov, 2009). To counter this and to ensure a minimum amount of time spent on acquiring vocational skills, in 2008 the central government came to a decision to create an education system for adults. This system is designed to provide vocational development for workers by means of short-term vocational training courses.

However, in practice, due to the low quality of these courses, they remain in low demand. In addition, the Centre for Modular Training, established in the late 1990s in Dushanbe, has not yet been able to significantly improve the state of modular vocational training.

There are no other observable significant measures to improve the situation with regards to raising the level of accessibility of the IVET system for its potential clients.

The national reports of the previous rounds of the TRP (2014 and 2016–2017) identified the need to introduce mechanisms for official recognition of vocational skills acquired in the process of non-formal and informal (spontaneous) training. In this regard, during the reporting period, the first fundamental result was achieved: the government adopted the Procedure for the Recognition (Validation) of Adult Competences.

Gradually, the process of implementing this procedure is qualitatively improving. According to some experts (FGD 1; FGD 2; FGD 3; FGD 4), the content of this document requires further revision: it is necessary to strengthen the position of employers’ representatives and to strengthen the methodological and organisational basis for the introduction of the validation process for vocational skills.

As noted above, in practice, this procedure mainly targets ELMs who have acquired a certain level of vocational skills in the process of actual work. This category of the labour force requires relevant official documents, confirming their qualifications, to ensure they can legally work abroad.

A quantitative analysis of the implementation process of this mechanism demonstrates (refer to Table AC2 in the Appendix) that in the two-year period for 2017 and 2018, almost 25 000 people successfully passed the certification of their vocational skills.

As already noted, the main participants in IVET are young people who, after completing GSE (11 grades), do not have the opportunity (whether financial/material or educational or both) to carry on further with their studies (in professional educational institutions) or failed to qualify for higher education institutions or SVET. Therefore, the majority of IVET participants have a weak base level of education.

It also should be noted that the share of students dropping out from school is growing each year: this indicator in 2018 went up by more than 1.5 times (by 3.5 pp) compared to 2015 and made up for 8.8% of the total number of students (refer to Table AC3 in the Appendices). The share of graduates who graduated with honours (with an ‘excellent’ mark) in 2018 compared to 2017 dropped by 0.06 pp and accounts for 2.11% of the total number of IVET graduates (refer to Table AC4 in the Appendices).

In the SVET subsystem, the situation differs slightly as the base knowledge of students is comparatively higher than those in the IVET subsystem.

It follows from the data in Table AC1 in the Appendices that in the period 2015–2018, on average, 6.4% of the IVET students are orphans and minors without parental care, while 15% of these (0.9% of the total number of students) are students with disabilities. Orphans and minors without parental care often need a place of residence, and students with a disability often need suitable facilities and access; both of these elements require additional financial and human resources. The VET system is also short of experience for organising training for students with disabilities.

No other practice related to material and educational support for socially vulnerable students has been observed.

No legislative or regulatory act of the state violates the principle of equality/equity in the VET system. In addition, as noted above, for vulnerable people, a series of benefits for admission to IVET institutions and social support measures are legally established. Any other educational measures are not currently observed. It should be noted that for a more viable implementation of the measures established to support vulnerable students, the IVET system is hindered by the limited financial and organisational capabilities (FGD 1; FGD 2; FGD 3; FGD 4).

Inclusive education is one of the priorities for the development of the education system at all levels. In NSDE-2020, the ‘introduction of inclusive education’ is included in the main strategic tasks for the further development of education. Moreover, the following are envisaged:

• training of teachers, health workers and social workers with knowledge and skills in inclusive education; and
• establishment of social, pedagogical and economic models and teaching and educational technologies for inclusive education.

During the period under review, a significant and positive shift in this direction has been observed. This takes place within the framework of the Promoting Social Change and Inclusive Education project, implemented by the Representative Office of DVV International in the Republic of Tajikistan with financial support from the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. This project aims to promote social development and give young people with disabilities the right to education and a decent profession. This project is being introduced in three pilot regions of the Republic.

The framework of the implementation of this project currently addresses the following:

• The needs of young people with disabilities in the field of vocational training have been investigated.
• A list of professions/vocations most in demand in local labour markets and suitable for young people with disabilities depending on the type of disability (limited movement, limited vision, limited hearing and learning difficulties) has been drawn up.
• A list of the requirements for material, technical and personnel training at AECs in pilot districts has been drawn up for the selected specialities.
• Material-technical and educational-methodological bases of training in three local AECs have been created.
• The process of training young people with disabilities in relevant vocations has started.

The VET system in Tajikistan, in practice, as in other stages of the professional education system, has not yet introduced tracer studies for graduates.

Nonetheless, the results of the LFS 2016 demonstrate that the employment rate of those with IVET is the highest (63.3%) in comparison with other levels of education (excluding those with specialist and master’s degrees, which is 64.5%). The employment rate of those with IVET within the labour force is also the highest. The participation level of persons with IVET in the labour force is also high (66.1%) compared to other levels of education (except for HE, at 69.2%). According to these indicators, the SVET subsystem has the worst indicators compared with other levels of vocational education (refer to Table C1 and also AC5 in the Appendices).

* Persons with specialist and master’s level education; ** Persons with bachelor’s level education bachelor

Notwithstanding with the presence of positive tendencies among graduates of the IVET system in comparison with graduates of other levels of education, the 36.7% unemployment rate among IVET graduates is an alarming signal (see Table C1). This is partly a consequence of the labour surplus in the economy described in section B.1.1. It also links to the high level of ELM of IVET graduates (11.8%) compared to graduates of other levels of professional education.

Another factor for this high unemployment rate for IVET graduates is the low quality of education in this system which leads to mismatches between supply of vocational skills with labour market demands.

Other factors (socio-demographic and cultural) affecting the employment of young people in Tajikistan were identified in a study conducted in 2017 with the support of the University of Bamberg (Germany) (Ashurov, 2018).

The key factor affecting the employment process and minimising the school-to-work transition time is the quality of education. Therefore, a set of measures to improve the quality of education is fundamental in the sphere of supporting employment opportunities and transition to employment for IVET graduates.

Another important measure in this area is the development of a regulatory framework (refer to section B.1.6) and the start of its implementation to validate the professional skills acquired in the process of non-formal and informal education.

No significant changes have been observed in other possible areas of action to support employment opportunities and the transition to employment of VET graduates.

A key part of effective vocational development and convergence of the education system to the needs of the labour market is an efficient career guidance system. The responsible state governing body in this sphere is the MLMEP, including the Republican Centre for Vocational Guidance. As shown in Table AC6 in the Appendices, on average up to 26 500 registered unemployed people made use of these services each year in the period under review.

The need to reform the activities of public agencies responsible for career guidance was mentioned in the 2016–2017 national TRP report. However, no significant change in this sphere has been observed so far. The work carried out has traditionally been ineffective (FGD 1).

Article 18 of the Law on Primary Vocational Education establishes that ‘while performing their professional duties, engineering and pedagogical staff have the right to the freedom of choice in the use of teaching methods, upgrading, teaching aids, materials, textbooks and methods for appraisal of students’ knowledge.’ The same norm is established in Article 19 of the Law on Primary Vocational Education for the subsystem of vocational education.

Analysis demonstrates that methods of teaching and learning in the VET system remain conventional: theoretical lessons are conducted in the form of lectures, and practical lessons in the form of instruction (briefing) and practical exercises are conducted in workshops. Significant advancement in this sector has not been observed, although in recent times some teachers who have received training from international organisations are beginning to use modern teaching methods, such as interactive methods and computer technologies (FGD 1; FGD 2; FGD 3).

Practical training in professional disciplines is generally conducted in workshops located in the educational institutions themselves. On-the-job learning is just beginning to be used by some IVET institutions that have managed to establish beneficial business relationships with employers (FGD 1; FGD 3). At the political level, the issue of transition to on-the-job learning has not yet been considered.

The introduction of modern advanced teaching technologies depends, in particular, on the level of competence of the ETS, and on the provision of methodological support.

Taking into consideration the dominance of outdated physical infrastructure, which is one of the main factors in the formation of the learning environment, the MLMEP has begun the process of overhauling and reconstructing buildings and structures of VET schools within the framework of the ADB Strengthening Vocational Education and Training project, which was launched in 2017. The second priority area of ​​this project, entitled ‘Improving the Physical Conditions in Selected IVET Institutions’, has begun the process of modernisation of the physical and training facilities for 28 selected IVET institutions. Moreover, within the framework of this project, the process of supplying modern educational equipment necessary for the implementation and maintenance of the proposed competency-based curriculum has begun.

One of the indicators determining the state of affairs in the teaching environment is the structure of teachers’ workloads. The analysis demonstrates that a teacher’s working week consists of 41 hours, of which 20 hours (48.8%) are spent in classes (workshops), while the rest of this time is devoted to class preparation, exchange of experience with other teachers, and comprehension of the educational process (In-depth Individual Interview  1).

Another factor that impacts the teaching and learning environment is the student/teacher ratio. Analysis of this indicator for the IVET subsystem demonstrates that it has been declining from year to year: from 2015 to 2018, this indicator dropped from 9.8 to 8.5. The same downward trend is observed in the SVET subsystem; however, this indicator is on average 2.7 times higher than for the IVET subsystem (refer to table AD1 in the Appendices and Figure D1).

The poor level of qualifications of teachers, insufficient educational and methodological literature, and a lack of training equipment are adding to the decline in the quality of the IVET system’s teaching and learning environment.

The average salary in the IVET system also plays a significant role in the state of affairs in the teaching and learning environment: the average salary in the IVET system for 2014 to 2017 is one-third (34%) less than in the overall education system (refer to Table AD2 in the Appendices).

The current policy for the improvement of learning and teaching methods in VET is covered in two donor projects (ADB and EU) aimed at improvement of the educational methodology of the system and mechanisms for improvement of the quality of its ETS in the IVET subsystem.

As mentioned in section A.3.5, the process of modernising the physical and educational material base has been launched in 29 selected IVET institutions within the framework of the ADB Strengthening Vocational Education and Training project.

The process of strengthening the potential of the staff members at the Dushanbe Engineering and Pedagogical College and modernisation of its material and technical base has also been launched. Likewise, a number of measures have been implemented to increase the capacity of the Training and Methodological Centre and monitor the quality of education in the establishment of standards of competences, curricula and materials.

In addition, the MLMEP is working towards new mechanisms for determining staff salaries with due consideration for their level of education. In other areas of improvement in the teaching conditions, no significant progress has been observed.

In accordance with Article 17 of the Law on Initial Vocational Education, engineering and pedagogical employees of the IVET institutions include administration staff, teachers, senior masters, masters (instructors) of industrial training, educators, methodologists and other staff who carry out educational processes. Engineering and pedagogical activities in IVET institutions can be undertaken by those with appropriate secondary or HE, with required technical skills and qualifications in the speciality, as well as those with relevant working experience and suitable soft skills. The state guarantees, at least once every five years, provision of free advanced training for ETS at IVET institutions. The same norms are established for SVET teaching staff in the Law on Secondary Vocational Education. The policy in the field of education of VET teachers and their professional development in the country has not undergone significant changes and remains outdated.

As shown in Table AD3, 11.7% of teachers and 7.6% of masters of vocational training do not have vocational education. Moreover, about a third of teachers and industrial training masters have not been formally categorised as having a particular level of skill; they are assigned predetermined levels of expertise (higher, first, second) as they gain experience.

Research (TRP 2016–2017) and official strategic documents (NSDE-2020) have established that the poor level of professionalism of the IVET system’s ETS is one of the key factors impeding the improvement of the system’s quality.

This poor level of professional quality of the ETS is a consequence, in particular, of the low wages. The formula ‘low level of wages Þ low level of potential Þ low level of incentive to work’ applies well in this case.

The situation in the context of SVET is a bit different. For example, for the 2018/19 academic year, out of 4 260 full-time teachers, 122 (1.9%) had a PhD or Candidate of Science level qualification, 3 332 (78.2%) had completed higher education, and 835 (19.6%) had completed secondary and primary professional education. The share of full-time teachers in the SVET subsystem has been on an upward trajectory (see Figure D2).

Another factor impacting the professional quality of IVET teachers is the inefficiency of the system of professional development.

Presently, the minimum qualification requirements for the position of a teacher or master of industrial training in a IVET institution is not singly established. These categories of employees are conventionally appointed and dismissed based on the director of the educational institution’s decision in accordance with the requirements of the Labour Code of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The programme of introductory instruction for young teachers or industrial training masters has not been introduced; however, there is a practice of mentoring young ETS who do not perform efficiently enough.

In accordance with the Labour Code, all employees in the VET system are waged. In addition to permanent employees, the teachers and masters of industrial training outside the educational institution, who are called part-timers and are also considered employees, can be involved in the education process. Permanent employees, as a rule, can be recruited on a contract basis. Employees of public educational institutions (including the director) are not government employees, but employees of a government agency.

As noted above, no list of minimum qualification requirements for teachers or masters of industrial training in a IVET institution currently exists. At present, there is also no qualification framework or systems of appraisal of the professional quality of the teaching and management team of IVET institutions.

The 2013 Law on Education, 2003 Law on Primary Vocational Education, and 2015 Law on Secondary Vocational Education determine the rights and obligations of employees of the VET system in relation to the improvement of qualifications. At the same time, the state guarantees each employee advanced training courses every five years, and the employees are required to improve their level of knowledge, outlook, vocational mastery and skills. However, as shown in the TRP 2016–2017, under the current mechanism of organisation of training courses, this state guarantee is not fully utilised; in other words, not all VET employees pass through such courses once every five years. Moreover, it was revealed that the quality of such courses is expected to improve. It was also established that no other mechanism of improvement of qualifications exists, which would allow the employees, if necessary, to independently and regularly organise their professional development.

The main factor in attracting and retaining teachers and trainers is salary increases. The MLMEP has not yet been able to alter the situation tangibly, as seen in the comparatively low wages (even for the education sphere) of VET employees.

According to the MLMEP statistics as of 1 September 2019, there is a 9.8% shortfall of teachers of vocational disciplines, with a 19.5% shortfall for masters of industrial training. Among the major factors hindering the attraction of highly skilled specialists to the VET system is the low wages (refer to Table AD2). Nonetheless, in the respective legislation, this indicator is compensated for by setting up a special social status for teachers. For example, Article 53 of the Law on Education provides for a number of privileged benefits, such as retirement after 25 years of work in the education system and housing in rural areas.

To improve the quality of the mechanism of CPD, purposeful work has begun within the framework of the European Commission’s project Technical Assistance to the MLMEP in the Field of Advanced Training of Teachers of the System of Primary Vocational Education and Training.

In line with the IVET and SVET laws, it is established that ‘the state guarantees, at least once every five years, free advanced training of engineering and teaching staff of educational institutions of primary vocational education.’ However, this mechanism is not fully or effectively functioning due to the restricted financial and human resources of the VET system.

Article 17 of the Law on IVET establishes that in order to improve engineering and pedagogical activities, staff should be selected, recruited and placed in suitable positions; staff should also show motivation for professional growth and a willingness to improve the quality and efficiency of work. The same regulation is also established in the law on SVET, though in reality, the existing mechanism is carried out mainly pro forma and plays no significant role in motivating the ETS to complete their own professional development. This is likely because of the lack of ETS and their low wages.

Thus, in the sphere of state policy regarding managing the professional development of teachers and motivating and supporting their participation in professional development, no significant changes have been observed.

As noted above, currently there is no qualifications framework or system for assessing the professional quality of teaching and management personnel of VET institutions. The only mechanism for monitoring and assessing the professionalism is the certification of ETS, which is carried out every five years. However, this mechanism is also ineffective.

Analysis clearly shows that the legislative and regulatory acts adopted in the field of vocational education in Tajikistan do not present a vivid definition of the notions of quality and quality assurance, or potential systems of quality assurance and tools for improving the quality of education. The regulatory acts related to quality assurance are scattered across various juridical documents, containing multiple overlaps and repetitions of procedures and criteria. They not only miss out on a clear definition of the goal/objective and role of quality assurance in the system, but they also lack a definition of functions assigned to the quality assurance system or the agencies responsible for its implementation at the levels of system, institution and programme. Instead, existing legal documents are used as official control tools, but not as tools for quality upgrade (Ashurov, 2016).

Nonetheless, with the adoption of the NSDE-2020, a more tangible advancement in the political perception of the problem of the quality of vocational education in the country is being observed. In this sectoral strategy paper, the following are assumed:

• The content of vocational education will be reviewed in accordance with the current and planned demands of the economy and the requirements of the labour market, society and families.
• A new generation of professional standards will be introduced at all levels of vocational education. Working them out will take place with the direct participation of employers.
• The concept of a new generation of professional standards envisages the transition to competence-based results and modular organisation of educational programmes at all levels.

In accordance with the Educational Standards (ES) of IVET, the content of education in the context of a specific speciality is reflected in the Main Vocational Education Programme (MVEP) for this speciality, which is worked out on the basis of the professional standard. Currently, the professional standards developed in the 1990s function but are outdated from the standpoint of their compliance with the demands of the labour market and the economy as a whole. A new generation of standards for IVET specialities are just beginning to be worked out (III 1; FGD 1; FGD 2; FGD 3).

Consequently, currently, the content of education in the IVET system is mostly outdated and fails to conform to the demands of the country’s economy. This situation is characteristic of other levels of vocational education (Ashurov, 2016).

It needs to be noted that at present, there is no mechanism for the inclusion of IVET students or their representatives in the process of determining the content of education.

Moreover, the current situation in the area of describing, systematising and structuring qualifications fails to correspond to the goals and objectives of national strategic documents. The situation is characterised by a lack of statistics, and a lack of structure and system for the adopted qualifications.

It should be noted, however, that the legislation of Tajikistan strives to provide quality vocational education, mainly by means of establishing ES and ensuring the fulfilment of these standards through licensing, official certification and accreditation.

Article 1 of the Law on Education establishes the following:

• quality of education – a set of indicators of official (state) educational standards and official (state) requirements/demands;
• official (state) educational standards – a set of norms reflecting the content of education, the meaning and timing of training, the volume of learning workload, the level of knowledge to be mastered by students, the basic demands for ensuring the learning process, the content of curricula, and appraisal of the level of knowledge in educational institutions.

The VET system’s ES entrust the function of determining the content of education in the context of a specific speciality to the professional standards of these specialities themselves.

Consequently, the development of professional standards for each speciality of VET, only takes into account the present and short-term needs of the economy. Also the approval and subsequent introduction, of quality education new content matching economy’s demands is too slow.

As for professional standards, an educational institution can work these out based on a concrete speciality. This happens in SVET and HE as most experts are concentrated in these two systems of vocational education. As for the IVET system, this function is entrusted to the Educational and Methodological Centre and Monitoring the Quality of Education under the MLMEP.

The MLMEP approves the professional standards for the IVET specialities. According to the procedure established in the ES, on the basis of these professional standards, each educational institution develops a IVET Programme for each speciality. The same procedure functions within the framework of the SVET subsystem, with the sole difference that the role of the MLMEP is played by the MES.

However, the following problems exist with this approach.

First of all, employers do not show any interest in working out professional standards and do not participate in the process. Although recently there has appeared to be evidence of coordinating the professional standards with representatives of employers, this ‘process of agreement’ actually passed over pro forma, since the agreement requires considerable effort on the part of the employers’ representatives (who inspect the professional standards) but they are not paid by anyone so do not invest much time or energy in the process. In addition, the employer may not have a specialist qualified enough to know all the qualifications required in the relevant industry or profession.

Second, in the educational institutions or in the institutions responsible for working out the professional standards, it is clear that there cannot be enough specialists who perfectly know the economy’s demands for a particular vocation. For example, in the list of IVET professions (approved together with the ES of IVET), there are 163 specialities, while in the Training and Methodological Centre and Monitoring the Quality of Training of the MLMEP, only 3 to 5 people are involved in the process of working out the standards. It should be mentioned that during the Soviet Union period, almost all vocational (qualification) standards were worked out centrally and passed down to Tajikistan for implementation. This means there was no experience/expertise or structure for working out professional standards within the country’s education system.

Third, at the initial stage of approval of the professional standards, educational institutions need staff who are capable of qualitatively developing the MVEP available. However, not all IVET institutions have such resources.

Fourth, high-quality MVEP, as the main end product of the professional standards, requires appropriate educational, methodological, material, technical and staff bases and these are not currently in place.

The current system for appraisal of the quality of education, consisting mainly of licensing, attestation and accreditation to ensure compliance and conformity of a number of indicators with minimum standards, overburdens the system but brings about an insignificant increase in quality. The external quality assurance system in Tajikistan is, at present, a chain of three sequential steps: licensing, attestation and accreditation. All links in this chain rely on identical standards and more or less on uniform procedures and performers, burdening educational institutions while not contributing to the improvement and modernisation of the system. These appraisal tools do not attach importance to functions such as quality upgrade, professional certification of graduates and information provision, which are necessary for effective implementation and functioning of a quality assurance system (Ashurov, 2016).

These appraisal tools do not instill confidence in VET consumers, including employers, but also in wider society, insofar as the quality of services provided remains low, with little potential for elaboration and improvement.

Regarding the results of this appraisal, apart from the recognition by the government by means of the official quality appraisal agencies, there is no professional recognition by employers. The employers are in possession of no information and, accordingly, are not able to trust the existing tools for quality appraisal insofar as the performance of university graduates does not conform to the expected requirements.

Official (State) Standards for Quality Management, passed in 2013 by Decree #497, in essence are quantitative and, accordingly, control-oriented, and are the main guiding documents in the field of quality assurance in education, but they do not encourage educational institutions to improve their results (World Bank, 2014). 

The key position in the process of working out and updating the content of education is mainly held by educational institutions, which generally do not have the appropriate human capacity and resources to attract external experts. A similar situation is observed in the context of the Educational and Methodological Centre and the MLMEP’s monitoring of the quality of training.

It should be mentioned that none of the tools for working out and renewal of the professional standards envisages the full engagement of the main stakeholder – employers – in these procedures.

Nonetheless, certain positive shifts are occurring, as a result of the introduction of project initiatives by international organisations (ADB and EU – see section A.3.5). As already noted in section B.1.5, within the framework of the ADB project, professional standards (referred to as competence standards) have been worked out for 10 IVET specialities. In addition, the MLMEP’s Training and Methodological Centre and Monitoring the Quality of Education have worked out professional standards for 16 IVET and AE specialities in the period 2016 to 2019.

All key EU competences, such as literacy, language skills, mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, digital competences, personal, social and educational competences, civic responsibility, entrepreneurship, and grasping of cultural values, ​​are reflected in the curricula at all levels of education in Tajikistan. The process for students to attain EU competences is provided in the curricula of all levels of education. VET curricula pay special attention to the formation of engineering and entrepreneurship competences.

It is stated in the NSD-2030 that the imbalance of the educational services and labour market and the poor quality of education and skills of the labour force, as mentioned in section A.2.4, are among a range of factors obstructing the country’s efficient socio-economic development. Related to this, the NSD-2030 envisages improvement of the quality at all levels of education; provision of a tight connection between the education system and the labour market, conducive to balancing the supply of different specialists with the labour market demands; developing the system of engineering and technical education; working out programmes and mechanisms for appraisal of specialists’ competences (national system of mapping competences); provision of relationship between professional knowledge and practical skills by means of formation of educational and qualification standards in various specialities with the engagement of enterprises and organisations; realisation of a training system working with large enterprises; and establishment of industrial training sites.

Currently, on the basis of these guidelines and priorities, the National Strategy for the Development of Education in the Republic of Tajikistan is being designed for the period until 2030. Relying on this strategic document, the MLMEP plans to design a National Action Plan to reform the IVET system by 2030.

High-quality practical introduction of the foreseen and envisaged measures, which require massive financial and human resources, would obviously improve the situation with the provision of quality education in the VET system.

In the period under consideration in this report, the system of institutional and management mechanisms have not undergone significant changes. In the process of formation and implementation of the IVET and SVET policy, the following actors are involved: the MLMEP is the agency of state administration of the system; the MES supervises the activities of the system; the Ministry of Finance finances the activities; and the Ministry of Economy forms the state order for personnel training. Industrial sectoral ministries are engaged in this process only when placing an order for staff training through the Ministry of Economy. At the same time, the MLMEP and the MES have the right to establish inter-sectoral (inter-ministerial) Task Forces to deal with specific issues. Currently, the extent of coordination of the activities of these structures fails to correspond to the strategic objectives of reforming the IVET and SVET systems.

The AE subsystem is included in the structure of the Agency for Labour and Employment of the Population of the MLMEP, while the subsystem of IVET is directly accountable to the Department of VET of the Office of the MLMEP. Similarly, the SVET subsystem is accountable to the SVET Department of the Office of the MES.

In accordance with the country’s current legislation, the VET system is administered only by central government authorities. Local government agencies do not participate in this process. This is because the properties of the institutions are on the central state balance sheet and the system is financed from the state budget. Taking into consideration that many local authorities are subsidised by the central authorities, this central management mechanism is optimal for the system.

VET establishments are independent (autonomous) in making staff-related decisions (with the exception of appointing the management team). Educational institutions have the right to design the curricula for certain (possibly new) specialities; however, they need approval from the authorised body of the ministry, which controls compliance with certain norms of the ES and the identity of the curricula. In the distribution and allocation of financial budgetary resources, the extent of autonomy of the VET institutions is rather low. As for the educational institutions’ own funds, which are the result of industrial activities and the rendering of charged (paid) services, the institutions are independent to a certain extent.

Local executive authorities are officially involved only in ratifying the appointment of the heads of VET institutions: for PVE, the MLMEP decides on the candidate and for SVET the MES decides, with the local authority giving its final consent.

Consequently, each educational institution regularly submits reports directly to the central authoritative body: VTLs submit reports to the MLMEP (to the Department of IVET), AECs to the MLMEP, and professional colleges to the MES (to the Department of SVE). VET institutions fulfil the assignments of other interested ministries through the respective ministries (MLMEP for IVET and MES for SVET).

In the academic sphere, VET institutions are accountable to the MES. The authority of this ministry includes, in particular, issuing licences for educational activities in specific specialities and conducting attestations and accreditation of an educational institution on the subject of conformity of their activities with the established norms of the ES for VET.

Notwithstanding the educational institutions having the right to initiate the designing and implementation of new programmes and activities, this generally follows a ‘top-down’ approach. This is a consequence of the poor calibre of the staff (especially management) base of the system’s educational institutions.

Currently, no significant measures undertaken to reform the management system have been observed.

In accordance with the relevant legislation of the country, non-state actors (social partners, employers, civil society, teaching staff and students of VET institutions) have the right to participate in the management of the institutions. On the practical level, this participation is only ever ad hoc. No clear mechanism for the participation of non-state actors in the formation of VET policy is in place. In 2012, at the initiative of the deputies of the country’s parliament, the Law on Training Specialists Taking into Account the Needs of the Labour Market was adopted, which calls for the formation of a regulatory and legal basis for cooperation between the spheres of education and the labour market in the process of training staff. However, at the time of writing, this law does not work, because the mechanism for stimulating the employers in this process has not yet been designed. In this regard, there is no clear distribution of functions and responsibilities between state and non-state actors in the formation and implementation of VET.

There is currently no policy to actively support partnerships for vocational skills development at the local level. However, through the efforts of VET institutions, community representatives, jamoats (local self-governing bodies) and employers are involved in the management of some of the schools.

As for the other participants in the VET system (students, their parents, ETS), the mechanisms for their participation in the management of the system are clearly described in legislative and regulatory acts.

Public–private partnerships are conventionally accomplished within the framework of a tripartite agreement between the government, the Federation of Trade Unions and the Union of Employers. However, this agreement does not regulate partnerships in the field of VET, though in reality, this mechanism can be used in the formation of public–private partnerships in the area of VET as well.

Qualitative improvement of the situation in supporting the participation of non-state actors demands a huge effort. The MLMEP and the Union of Employers of Tajikistan should play a key role in this area. Research demonstrates that both parties have shown an interest in this issue.

The budget of the VET system within the framework of public expenditure is formed by the Ministry of Finance in conjunction with the relevant ministries (MLMEP for IVET and MES for SVET). In addition to the public (state) source of financing, as already noted, institutions can also have their own funds, raised, for example, through industrial activities such as renting arable land, pasture, machinery and equipment, and the provision of paid-for services. As noted in the national TRP 2016–2017 report, employers’ participation in financing the system in recent years has been fragmentary at the educational institution level. Thus, the budgetary load at this stage is mainly distributed between the state budget and the budget of the system itself.

Distribution of the budget is conventionally accomplished by the responsible ministry based on the budget proposals of each educational institution within the allocated funds. The spending of an institution’s own funds is approved by relevant ministries at the suggestion of each educational institution within the framework of the earned funds.

The same funding mechanism operates for AECs, with the only difference that the ministry function in this case is performed by the MLMEP.

Analysis demonstrates that the majority of the budgetary funds is directed towards maintenance of the current system. Strategic tasks receive only a tiny part of the funds, making it difficult to achieve significant change.

In the period under review, no measures to improve cost planning and budgeting processes in the VET system have been observed.

The VET system, its upkeep and development are financed from three sources: the state budget; the system’s own funds, which are formed through the industrial activities of educational institutions and the provision of paid-for services; and donor and other funds from international organisations. Funds from the state budget are mainly directed to the maintenance of the system, including wages, utilities and the purchase of small goods; the system’s own funds are used to maintain and develop the material and technical base of educational institutions; and funds from international organisations are mainly used to implement reform measures.

The funding formation mechanism works as follows. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy prepare and present the MLMEP with quantitative budget indicators (amount of funds) for the upcoming year for the ministry as a whole and broken down for sectors. The supervising ministry can introduce adjustments and present them to the Ministry of Finance for approval. The final version of the budget of the respective ministries (the MLMEP for IVET and the MES for SVE), upon approval by the government, is approved by parliament.

The process of budget expenditure is controlled by the responsible state agencies.

In the period under review, no measures to diversify and mobilise funding for the VET system have been observed.

The model for distribution of resources is as per E.4.1. Further distribution of state budget funds among the educational institutions and the system’s other structural organisations is carried out by the supervising ministries, and it is submitted to the Ministry of Finance for approval. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance directly processes the financing of educational institutions.

Distribution of educational institutions’ own funds is carried out by the supervising ministries on the basis of the propositions of the educational institutions themselves, and after approval by these ministries presented for review to the Ministry of Finance.

For the period under review, no significant changes have been observed in the resource distribution model.

A shortage of funds for the full functioning of the VET system is ascertained in many official strategic documents. For instance, in the NSDE-2020, ‘lack of financial resources’ is identified as one of the main threats to implementation of the strategy. The main portion of budgetary funds is allocated to the current maintenance of the system. This leaves only a small amount for strategic tasks, which results in the impact of these tasks being insignificant.

In general, for the period under review, no significant changes have been observed in the state policy to ensure an adequate volume of resources for VET and their equitable distribution.