DUSHANBE, January 19, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- The Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) ratified the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region, also known as the Lisbon Recognition Convention, on January 19.

Speaking on this subject, Minister of Education Nouriddin Saidov noted that Tajikistan signed the Lisbon Recognition Convention last June during President Rahmon’s visit to the European Parliament.

The Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region is an international convention of the Council of Europe elaborated together with the UNESCO. The Convention has been signed by all 47 member states of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg except for Greece, Monaco, and San Marino.  It has been signed, but not ratified yet, by Italy.  It has also been signed by the Council of Europe non-member states Australia, Belarus, Canada, the Holy See, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand, Tajikistan, and the USA.

The Convention aims to facilitate the recognition of qualifications granted in one Party in another Party. It provides that requests should be assessed in a fair manner and within a reasonable time.  The recognition can only be refused if the qualification is substantially different from that of the host country - and the onus is on its educational institution to prove that it is.

The Lisbon Recognition Convention is an important instrument for the Bologna Process which aims at creating the "European higher education area" by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe.