DUSHANBE, July 13, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Schools in Tajikistan are continuing to experience an acute shortage of teachers, Education Minister Abdujabbor Rahmonov remarked at news conference in Dushanbe on July 12.

According to him, Tajikistan now has 3,132 teaching vacancies: Khatlon province has 1,195 teaching vacancies, districts subordinate to the center – nearly 1,000 teaching vacancies, Sughd province – 539, Dushanbe – 221; and Gorno Badakhshan – 180.

He added that by the beginning of the school year 2009-2010 Tajikistan had only 25 teaching vacancies.  “The main reason for the sharp rise in the teacher shortage in the country is the fact that in April-May this year, many teachers left the country seeking better employment opportunities,” the minister said, noting that many specialists do not want to work with schools because of low monthly wages in the education sector.

3,810 high schools with a total number of more than 95 teachers and 1.7 million students now function in the country.