The number of Kyrgyz-language schools in Tajikistan has been declining in recent years. Citizens of Tajikistan of Kyrgyz descent are concerned about escalating border conflicts, but they hope for lasting peace between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan so they can live peacefully at home.
Due to the deteriorating situation on the border between neighboring countries, many Tajikistanis of Kyrgyz origin, when going on vacation to Kyrgyzstan, cannot return. The border between the two countries continues to be closed and there are no air or land connections.
According to the 2010 census [data of the 2020 census could not be found in open sources], there were 60.7 thousand ethnic Kyrgyz living in Tajikistan, or 0.8% of the population. Most of them live in the border areas.
According to observers, deteriorating relations between the two countries due to undescribed borders left over from the collapse of the Soviet Union and armed clashes over the past few years have led to an exodus of ethnic Kyrgyz from Tajikistan. Nevertheless, there are many citizens of Kyrgyz origin who do not want to leave the country and hope that they and their descendants will live in peace and harmony as they did before.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science of the RT, there are 53 secondary general education institutions (this is now the name of general education schools in Tajikistan) with Kyrgyz language of instruction, with a total of 11,390 students.
In particular, in Murghab district, GBAO there are 11 active Tajik-Kyrgyz schools with 2114 students, 25 Tajik-Kyrgyz educational institutions with 7441 students are in Lakhsh district, in the east of the country, there are also 14 schools with 1289 students in the Kyrgyz language.
In northern Sughd province, which closely borders Kyrgyzstan, there were 12,896 citizens of Kyrgyz origin, according to the same 2010 census. There are also educational institutions and classes in Tajik schools, where education is conducted in the Kyrgyz language.
In particular, there is one Tajik-Kyrgyz and one purely Kyrgyz school in Isfara, with 29 classrooms and 490 pupils. There is also an educational institution in the city of Kanibadam, where both Kyrgyz and Tajik students share classrooms.
Hekim Borkeshev, the principal of General Education Institution No. 28 in Kanibadam district, has been a Kyrgyz language teacher for 40 years and has been the principal of this school since 2022.
He told CABAR.asia that this school was founded in 1932. Back then there were only two classes. During the Soviet era, teachers were recruited from the Kyrgyz Republic, some of whom are still working today. Over the years it has grown from a small school to a large one, with 500 students in one shift.
In recent years, due to border conflicts, the number of students here has been decreasing, complains Borkeshev.
“For example, students who went to the Kyrgyz Republic last year, for vacations, could not return because the situation was turbulent due to the border conflict. The number of teachers decreased as well. But despite this, the remaining experienced teachers continue their work,” said the school director.
People in this village live peacefully and don’t want war, Borkeshev said.
“I have not heard of any Kyrgyz living in several neighboring villages being harassed or pressured by any Tajiks,” he said.
Gulmira Rustamova, a Russian language teacher who has worked there for 31 years, believes neighbors should live in peace and harmony.
“In my many years of activity, I have seen and felt many times, and so now I can say with certainty that a favorable environment, mutual respect, cooperation and communication are very important for the preservation of friendship,” she said.
Children should be brought up in a spirit of peace and good neighborliness, Rustamova said. After all, children’s upbringing depends on adults.
“I want to say that if we show respect for each other, tolerate each other’s culture and customs, cooperate more, all these wounds will heal faster and friendship between our peoples will be restored again,” Gulmira Rustamova said.
The language of instruction in General Education Institution No. 28 is Kyrgyz. It is located in Sanjidzor village, Abulkosima Lohuti village community of Kanibadam district.
According to the deputy chairman of the village community, Mansurjon Tuychiev, Sanjidzor is one of the villages in Tajikistan where the majority of the population is ethnic Kyrgyz.
“Now our village has 289 households, and the number of residents has reached 960. The village has a polyclinic, a secondary general education institution, a boarding school and water supply and water distribution facilities,” said Mansurdzhon Tuychiev.
After visiting the labor training room of this school, CABAR.asia’s correspondent found elementary school students busy making various items during the labor lesson. The Kyrgyz and Tajik children were making crafts together from waste products.
A 4th grade student, Eldar Baimuradov, talked about his idea to make a birdhouse out of plastic containers.
“I dream of becoming a law enforcement officer and I will study as hard as I can to make my dream come true. My favorite subject is math. Unfortunately, all these years I still haven’t mastered the Tajik language. Of course I understand the language, but I can’t speak it. Now I am trying to learn the Tajik language completely, because I have many Tajik-speaking friends,” he said.
Eldar Baimuradov is an excellent student and has participated many times in math and Russian language Olympiads. In addition to the Tajik language, he also tries to learn English.
Burhoniddin Jabbori, head of the Kanibadam City Education Department, said that out of 55 general education institutions with 31,750 students in Kanibadam City, only one school in Sanjizor village, No. 28, provides instruction in the Kyrgyz language.
“This educational institution is designed for 600 students, but due to the events of recent years, particularly the border conflicts, the number of students decreases every year. The residents of the village mostly speak the Kyrgyz language. As for the current activities of schoolchildren, it is worth noting that they, like other students in the city’s schools, participate in various events, Olympiads and contests,” said Jabbori.
As is common in border areas, many citizens speak two languages – Tajik and their native Kyrgyz. There are also families here in which the parents are of different ethnicities. Because the number of Kyrgyz schools is decreasing, in some villages ethnic Kyrgyz children attend schools in Tajik.
Madina Iskhakova, a fifth-grade student at Kuhandiyar Secondary General Education Institution No. 15, Madaniyat village, Konibadam, is half Kyrgyz and half Uzbek. Her teachers say that she is the pride of their school. The girl has repeatedly won various Olympiads and competitions in the Tajik language.
This year Madina took part in the qualifying rounds of the nationwide contest of recitations “Furughi subҳi donoi kitob ast” (“Book is the morning wisdom”), reached the national level and took seventh place. All of her teachers note her excellent command of the Tajik language and predict a bright future for her.
Madina herself dreams of becoming a teacher and teaching children.
In this educational institution, children of Kyrgyz origin successfully study in the Tajik language. Previously, when there were more of them, they were taught in Kyrgyz, but for various reasons, especially after the military clashes on the border in recent years, there are very few of them left.
Fortunately, the border conflicts have not affected relations between neighbors and friends in the area. They still live side by side and help each other in times of need.
Negmatullo Mirsaidov, an expert on border issues, said the demarcation of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border should be completed as soon as possible.
Then, in his opinion, favourable conditions will be created for the revival of relations of friendship and cooperation and there will be no reason to worry that citizens of Kyrgyz origin are leaving Tajikistan.
He notes that the introduction of a rigid border system has not only negatively affected good neighborly traditions, but has also led to a decline in cross-border trade, which is the main source of income for many residents of the villages along the border of the two countries.
“Citizens of Kyrgyz origin constitute a part of the population of our country. Although the process of departure of young people who prefer to live in their historic homeland is now evident, but there are also those who do not want to leave the place of their birth. Conflicts between people are not eternal, they will definitely find a solution, lasting friendship between neighbors will be established, and the conditions for development will improve, including for the younger generation,” says Negmatullo Mirsaidov.
Residents of Tajik villages and districts bordering Kyrgyzstan are also hoping for the restoration of good-neighbourly relations.
Madina Iskhakova’s grandmother, a Kyrgyz national Adzharkhon Yusupova, believes the border problems will be resolved and good relations between the two neighbouring countries will resume in the near future.
“I want the friendship between our countries to be restored as soon as possible. So that the inhabitants can visit each other as they used to. For our children and grandchildren to live in peace and tranquility, for our prosperity depends on it. Unfortunately, it is the ordinary civilians who suffer the most from these border conflicts. We have strong family ties, and we don’t want to break them,” she said.