Education in Tajikistan

Tajik National University in Dushanbe.

 Public education in Tajikistan consists of 11 years of primary and secondary education but the government has plans to implement a 12-year system in 2016. There is a relatively large number of tertiary education institutions including Khujand State University which has 76 departments in 15 faculties, Tajikistan State University of Law, Business, & Politics, Khorugh State University, Agricultural University of Tajikistan, Tajik National University, and several other institutions. Most, but not all, universities were established during the Soviet Era. As of 2008 tertiary education enrollment was 17%, significantly below the sub-regional average of 37%. Many Tajiks left the education system due to low demand in the labor market for people with extensive educational training or professional skills.

Public spending on education was relatively constant between 2005–2012 and fluctuated from 3.5% to 4.1% of GDPsignificantly below the OECD average of 6%.^[112] The United Nations reported that the level of spending was "severely inadequate to meet the requirements of the country’s high-needs education system."

According to a UNICEF-supported survey, about 25 percent of girls in Tajikistan fail to complete compulsory primary education because of poverty and gender bias, although literacy is generally high in Tajikistan. Estimates of out of school children range from 4.6% to 19.4% with the vast majority being girls.