Journalist Training and Education in Kirgizstan

This article details trends related to the state of journalism training in Kyrgyzstan. The central conclusion is that the professional and educational level of young journalists in that country remains low, despite the growth of journalism departments. The author supports this claim by quoting Viktor Zapolsky, Editor-in-Chief of Delo No. weekly, who claims that "Students who come to our newspaper for practical training are not just helpless, but they do not want to remain in journalism in the future..." Marat also cites State Telecasting Company editor Alla Vzhesinskaya, who claims that only one or two out of an average group of 13 students could become journalists.

The article explores the causes of this phenomenon. In addition to the low salaries associated with this profession, lapses in up-to-date training methods in higher institutions seem to be a problem. The author points out that establishing journalism departments in Kyrgyzstanian institutions of higher education is in many cases as easy as obtaining a signature. Most training programmes are based in philology departments and retain methods left over from the Soviet era. Existing ignorance on the part of journalism students in terms of general culture is, thus, exacerbated by poor training due to the lack of a uniform approach and obsolete syllabi. Specifically, the lack of fresh, integrated teaching approaches creates a gap between the theoretical approaches taught regarding modern journalism and the practical work that takes place in editorial offices. Further, even teachers motivated to help are held back because of an interruption of teachers' training programmes that emerged during the Soviet era. Teachers' training is available abroad through international organisations and foundations, but the number of those who apply far exceeds the number who are accepted. As a result, Marat writes, "Students in practical training and young specialists imitate, blindfoldly and thoughtlessly, the programmes of Russian or Western media and even certain journalists." The Kyrgyz State National University (KSNU) and the American University of Kyrgyzstan (AUK) are two programmes described as notable exceptions to this trend, thanks to state-of-the-art technology and methodology.

Alternatives to journalism training in higher education in Kyrgyzstan are few. The article describes these alternatives as "sporadic seminars...[that are] mainly thematic and narrow-field and held without any plan or co-ordination". These seminars are arranged by NGOs, international organisations, and foundations.

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