Tajikistan - Plugging the Brain Drain

At the end of the Soviet Era in 1992, Tajikistan suffered an immediate loss of Russian-subsidised state revenue, which led to professional salaries collapsing. An ensuing 5-year civil war ushered in complete economic collapse, and over a tenth of the population migrated. Faced with physical danger, a huge drop in salary and rapid inflation of up to 33%, many university professors – often worldleaders in their fields – faced poverty, earning less than taxi drivers.

Teaching staff left in droves for Russia, the United States or Europe, driven by the need to provide decent housing for their families and lured by excellent salaries. The future for Tajikistan did not look bright: a severe shortage of qualified people to educate the next generation spelled economic disaster for the entire country.

Tajik State University of Policy and Business has more than 4,500 students studying in five faculties served by 316 teaching staff. The remaining professors are all on tiny salaries and lack any decent housing, forcing these key workers and their families to suffer very poor living conditions. Many end up sharing cramped apartments with only limited access to clean water and sanitation.

Habitat for Humanity has begun work in partnership with the university, transforming a derelict building into 58 apartments for university professors – preventing professor migration. More projects are planned, including the renovation of a three-story, 60-room accommodation block. HFH Tajikistan will support the transformation of this building into decent, affordable apartments. The project aims to provide 42 apartments for students and 18 for faculty members. The professors and their families will own their apartments and the staff will commit to work at the university for a fixed period of time, providing the security for both the staff and faculty.

This is truly a project where serving a relatively small portion of the population can have an enormous impact on the future prosperity of an entire country.