This is quite a long postcard but I hope that, (especially given my background), you’ll bear with me.  I have been asked some questions about the educational system here in Kyrgyzstan … so, here are some notes and some thoughts on the subject:

.

The first thing to say is that “Education is a highly prized commodity in the Kyrgyz Republic.”

It is said that until 1917 the Kyrgyz were largely illiterate. The family played the central role in education and socialization of the young – and it was in the family circle the young generation would absorb the culture, crafts, poetry and traditions of their forefathers.

The schools that did exist were primarily religious schools – called “mekteb” – where, under the tutelage of a mullah, the boys, (girls didn’t go to school), would learn to recite portions of the Koran and other religious texts. In 1909 there were 14 such schools in Pishpek (Bishkek), 11 in the Prezhervalsk (Karakol) district of Issyk Kul and 169 in the southern districts where the influence of religion was much stronger.

When Kyrgyzstan became absorbed into the Russian empire at the end of the nineteenth century, a number of secular schools appeared – so called “native schools”. Although they were called “native” schools, this term referred simply to the local population and so they brought together pupils from many different cultures represented in the local population: Kyrgyz, Dungans, Tartars, and Uzbeks, as well as other nationalities. They brought to their pupils a knowledge of both the Russian language and of Russian culture, and by 1914 were found throughout the territory now known as Kyrgyzstan, (in Alexandrovka, At Bashi, Ketmen Tebe, Naryn, Osh, Pishpek (Bishkek), Pokrovka, Prezhervalsk (Karakol), Sazonovka, Sokuluk, Talas, Tokmak and Tynaevka).  Some of the schools were boarding schools.

One thing, however, didn’t change– on the whole, they were still, mainly, just for boys. Two Russian “native” schools had been established in 1914 for the education of girls – one in Tokmak and the other in Prezhervalsk – with a total roll of just 42 girls.

The Soviet period, following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 was one of continual progress in terms of educational provision and the growth in the number of all forms of educational establishment, for example, continued right up to the end of the Soviet Union.

Also, during the Soviet period the position with regard to girls’ improved considerably.  One of the early measures adopted by Lenin after the Revolution in 1917 was a decree which established a “Commission on Enlightenment in the Turkestan Republic”. The commission set about extending the school system – and the only condition imposed on joining classes was “the will to study”.  The number of schools grew dramatically – and girls were able to receive an education. Indeed, in some areas the performance of women outstripped that of their male counterparts. In fact, at one point, in 1994-5, 60% of the students in institutes of higher education were female.  The gender difference is nowadays more marked, possibly because the boys are often withdrawn to assist with farm work or in the bazaars, which means that girls tend to have a better attendance record.

Indeed, although attendance at schools is supposed to compulsory, both school enrollment and attendance have been falling.  At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union it was said that enrollment in the first form was 100%, but five years later it had apparently fallen to 97%, and only 79% of the entire school age population.  What’s more, there is evidence to suggest that as they get older, there is a tendency for some children to drop out of school and start some, (unofficial), work in order to alleviate economic hardship within the family.   The increasing truancy rate has led to stories appearing in the local press of “child labour”.  It has been suggestion that another cause of the rise in truancy is due to the lack of suitable clothing, such as footwear.

Amongst the major results of the investment made by the Soviet Union in education was the high degree of literacy – variously reported as 97% or 100%, and a highly qualified population – 84% of the population having received a higher or “secondary” education.

The tendency during this period was for technical, vocational education. Students specialized in a particular area even whilst still at school – although there was (and still is) a standard programme of “general education” which forms the core of all courses of study. Although it was thought important for the development of socialism, Lenin’s dictum that it is important “to know a little about a lot” is still influential.  As a result, a first year student of Tourism could well find themselves attending classes in Thermodynamics even though it bears little, (if any), relevance to their main studies.

Curriculum development is often quite a bureaucratic process.  The Ministry of Labour has a series of job definitions laying down requirements for each profession.  The Ministry of Education then transfers these into course descriptors which have to be followed by individual syllabi and institutions.  In order to introduce any new course which is not covered by these documents has to be self-financing and there can be problems over recognition of the qualifications.  Indeed, not all qualifications are internationally recognized and this can cause difficulties for students transferring from one institution to another – especially if their family has moved abroad.  There has been a recent development for some institutions to offer courses leading to international qualifications and several institutions have established cooperation agreements with institutions abroad to help facilitate both the delivery and the recognition of courses.

.

Most of the instruction is in schools conducted in Kyrgyz – the state language, with about two thirds of the secondary schools conducting lessons in it.  About a fifth of the schools are “bilingual” in that both Kyrgyz and Russian are used to deliver the curriculum and another tenth are known as Russian schools because all the teaching is conducted in that language.  A small number of schools, especially in the rural regions of Southern Kyrgyzstan use either Uzbek or Tajik, reflecting the local community, in the classroom.  Since independence, there has been a resurgence in the Kyrgyz language and greater emphasis placed on it and other topics of “Kyrgyz nationalism”, (history, culture – art, music and literature, etc.)

In higher education, however, Russian is the predominant language with two thirds of studying through this medium.  This is partly due to the availability of textbooks, Kyrgyz language textbooks being far fewer.  As a result this may change as and when more Kyrgyz language textbooks become more available.  Indeed, it is said that the growing influence of “Kyrgyz nationalism” in education was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Slavonic University in 1993 to cater for the ethnic Slavic population in the country.

Some institutions also work in different languages – the Turkish schools and Manas University, for example also use Turkish, the American University and International School use English as an instructional language.

The question of language is important because most of the instruction relies on the technique of “lecturing”.  This is partly a hangover from the Soviet tradition, partly due to the lack of availability of textbooks and partly due to the lack of “educational technology” which is considered commonplace in the West.

The lack of textbooks in Kyrgyz may not that surprising in that it can be expensive to produce them, (for a limited market), requires specialist authors who are not only suitably qualified experts in their field, but also talented at being able to convey the material to a diverse audience.  The state budget for the purchase of textbooks is also limited, hence print runs tend to be small.  Some Kyrgyz language texts are sponsored by donors, but even so, there are precious few of them.  There is a wider choice when it comes to books written in Russian, but once again, budgets tend to restrict the number that can be purchased and made available to classes or in libraries.  Many pupils have to purchase their own textbooks whilst some schools operate a “deposit” system, charging a small fee for the loan of textbooks for the semester, or duration of the class.

There is also a considerable deficiency in terms of the available “educational technology”. Very few schools, for example, have computers, although there are plans to try and introduce more.  Some of the institutes of Higher Education and some specialist schools do have computer labs, but there is still a considerable deficit in the main, state run, sector.  Where computer facilities do exist, it is likely that the equipment is old and dated rather than “state of the art”.  The idea of “a laptop for every student” is a long way from realization.  This might be surprising given the fact that at the start of 2011 it was reported that there were over two million active users of the internet, out of a population of just over five million, many of whom live in remote rural districts.  But, it is not just computers that are lacking.  There is a deficiency in the provision of audio-visual aids, (models, posters, photographs, film and video), as well.

As an aside – this week the news broke that the The State Registration Service of Kyrgyzstan is considering the implementation of the “One Laptop Per Child Project”, (OLPC), in Kyrgyzstan.  Now, issues concerning issues relating to education in schools are beyond the remit of the service, but “informatization” of the country does fall within it.  ”This project is a good chance to contribute to the human development of our country,” the Vice Chairman said.

The OLPC project is run by a U.S. non-profit organization aiming “to create educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. Its current focus is on the development, construction and deployment of the XO-1 laptop and its successors.   The XO-1, manufactured in Taiwan and previously known as the “$100 Laptop” or “Children’s Machine”, is an inexpensive laptop computer specially designed to be distributed, to children in developing countries around the world, in order to provide them with access to knowledge, and opportunities to “explore, experiment and express themselves”.   It is rugged; has low-power consumption; uses flash memory instead of a hard drive; runs a special, (Fedora-based), operating system and user interface, (called “Sugar”); has provision for mobile, ad-hoc, networking which allows students to collaborate on activities and to share Internet access from one connection; and has also been designed to be lower cost and much longer-lived than typical laptops.

It will be interesting to see the reaction of the teaching force to this proposed initiative – give the considerable investment that will be required compared to their low salaries, (see below).   I hope and trust that the project will include computers for the teachers themselves and suitable training.

.

The year 1996 was declared as “The Year of Education”, and consequently much attention was focused on the sector.  Education has been promoted as a major tool in order to help integrate Kyrgyzstan into the world economy and facilitate development and the improvement of living standards for the population.

Recently, however, it has been argued, there has been a tendency for the access to education to decrease. This is partly because there has been a reduction of support from the state – hard pressed for cash, itself – and many schools are in a bad physical condition, not having been renovated for many years. In some cases, the teachers spend their holidays decorating the classrooms and corridors. There is insufficient funding to buy new textbooks, or other basic materials, or to retrain teachers. Many schools are now introducing a system of requesting subscriptions from parents to help the shortfall in funding.

The lack of funding has created a crisis over the question of the shortage of teachers and in particular, teachers’ salaries.  There are many schools without the full complement of teaching staff and most young entrants to the profession do not stay long, because of the low salaries it is claimed.  As a result the teaching is aging – in Bishkek, for example, a significant proportion of the teaching force have already past the official retirement age. (For the record, the majority of teachers are also female.)

Salaries are low.  To make matters worse, many of the social benefits which they enjoyed under the Soviet system have disappeared since Independence and not been replaced with any form of recompense.  As a result, at the end of 2010, teachers throughout the country started protests and even threatened strike action in pursuit of a pay claim.  The figures vary according the source but everyone, including politicians and officials agree that they are too low to attract, reward and retain staff, and that “something must be done”.  The starting salary in the Talas oblast, it was claimed, was just 1500 som a month, (the union’s figures for a new entrant to the profession were even worse – just 1177 som), rising to 1900 som for an “experienced teacher – that’s about USD33, (or EUR23, or GBP17) to USD42, (or EUR29, or GBP27) – not enough to buy a sack of flour, yet alone pay for electricity, gas or other amenities.  The union’s figures suggested that the average teacher’s salary was higher, (4026 soms a month), but there may be reasons for the discrepancy, (for example, it may include Bishkek and some other places where the salary is higher because it is subsidized by the city).  Even so, it was still only USD87, (or EUR62 or GBP57), which is below nominal average wage for the country, (based on actual salaries reported to the tax authorities – which might well be, in itself, an underestimate), of 6744 som and the “minimum subsistence basket” for the country which is 3,827som, or USD83, (or EUR59, or GBP55).   So, according to these figures, it seems that teachers as a whole are paid about 40% less than other workers in the country – and below the minimum subsistence level.  The union asked that teachers be paid at least on a par with the rest of the workforce – basically, for a 40% pay raise. Some of the rank and file, however, were not so modest in their claims which seem to range from demands for 10,000 to 15,000 som for the basic salary and the return of a number of other benefits which have been eroded over the years.

There is general agreement that teachers are particularly poorly paid given their qualifications and experience – and also their position and role in society.  Indeed the authorities didn’t dispute the merits of the case.  They did point out, however, that it is an issue that affects all government employees and not just teachers and that the main problem was that there just wasn’t the money in the budget, (which was already in deficit, and would be in even worse condition if the interim government hadn’t received budget support from grants from international donors following the April revolution and the other events that occurred during the summer).  Proposals were discussed which would abandon the current system of uniform pay scales in order to create a new one with various components – a basic salary plus different allowances, including one which is performance related.  This, of course raises additional, crucial questions, such as: conversion from one scale or system to another can create anomalies, so how can it be ensured that no-one will be worse off?; what is the quid pro quo?, (what will be the requirements demanded in return for “performance related” component? – improvements in the PISA ratings for Kyrgyzstan? – a more compact workforce, redundancies?), and, of course, if there is going to be an increase in salaries for individual teachers that will require additional funds, so where is the money to come from?

If at the start of the nineteenth century the majority of education was provided by the religious schools, (madrassas), then it should be noted that there a tendency is a return to the past.  For a while, most religious teaching took place with students leaving the country and studying in institutions abroad, in Saudia Arabia and Turkey for example.  There are now, however, a number of religious schools being established.  Some religious groups, for example, have established Sunday Schools and the Russian Orthodox Church in Bishkek has started a small school.  Several mosques also operate small schools, where the curriculum is, apparently, heavily dependent on learning the Koran.

.

The educational system: All Educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan have to be licensed.

There are three basic levels of schooling:

• Pre-school: in special infant schools (which take children from 1.5 to 3 years old) or kindergartens (which take children from 3 to seven years old). These can be run by the state, or be private. The provision for pre-school education has decreased since Independence.  The number of schools, kindergartens etc. now number about only a quarter of those at the time of independence.  Many were closed and either “sold” or converted to offices for use by some government body – for example as a tax office or a police station.  In December 2010, there was considerable controversy caused when the Bishkek municipal authorities sought to recover a Kindergarten which had been leased, rent free, for use as an orphanage, in order they said to reinstate it as a much needed kindergarten.
• Higher Education: Once they reach 18 years of age, a child can elect to continue their further education within the university system.

• School: This usually starts at the age of 6 – the First Form – and can continue up to 17 years of age – the Eleventh Form. It is divided into three stages:
  • Primary Education – in forms 1-4, that is until 10 years old, designed to develop basic skills and prepare the pupil for the next stage of their education.
  • Secondary (or Basic Secondary) Education – in forms 5-9, that is until 15 years old.
  • High School (or Complete Secondary) Education - in forms 10 and 11, that is until 17 years old. This can take place in a number of different types of institution, (an “upper secondary school, a specialized secondary school or a technical/vocational school), and is designed to create a foundation for further study.

In addition there are a number of other organizations established to meet specific needs – such as specialist Music Schools and schools that cater for pupils specially gifted in, say, Mathematics or languages.

Since Independence, a large number of private schools have been established.  All of them operate on a fee paying basis, although many have outside sources of funding as well – for example there is a network of Turkish funded establishments.  They are classified as gymnasiums, lyceums, “innovation schools” (targeting “gifted children” or just “private schools”.

The school timetable: Usually the school year begins on 1^st September – even if it happens to fall at the weekend. The first day of the year usually has the children dressed in their best clothes and they bring flowers to the classroom. In Soviet times September 1^st was known as “Day of Knowledge” – to mark the start of the educational year, and also as “Day of Peace”. The lessons on this day were all dedicated to the theme of “Peace” and the tradition has continued although now, it is also known as the Day of the Kyrgyz State. There are proposals to move the start of the school year a couple of weeks later so that families can exploit the relatively mild weather and take a late holiday – or help with the harvest.

Teacher’s Day is marked on the first Sunday of October – one of a series of professional “holidays” designated to commemorate particular groups of workers.

“Last Bell” – May 25^th is known as “Posledniye zvonok” – or “Last Bell”. It is the last day of classes in the school year for those in their final year. All that remains are the summer examinations. As elsewhere in the world – the day is usually marked with “high jinks” by those affected.  That’s not the end of the year, however, as examinations will take place in the subsequent weeks, and lower classes may continue until June 22nd, when Attestats, (the formal record of results – graduation transcripts), are issued.  These “attestats” are not the  formal certificates, or diplomas, which are usually issued after the summer holidays.

Many schools operate a “shift” system with two separate groups of students attending classes either in the morning or the afternoon session.

Grading Systems: In Kyrgyzstan, coursework and examinations are usually marked on a scale of 1-5.  5 is equal to “Excellent”, 4 to “Good”, 3 is “Satisfactory”, and 2 is “Unsatisfactory”. To receive a “2” is considered a distinct shame … 1 is rarely ever given – and appears to be reserved as a particular severe comment or punishment.

Although there are written examinations, most are oral.  Students may have been given a list of questions beforehand and prepare answers.  During the examination they may draw the question they will be asked by lots – then supplementary questions may be put to them by the examiners.

If they receive an unsatisfactory mark grade in either coursework or the examination, then they are usually given a chance to retake the particular assignment.

Marks for coursework are entered into an official record book, known as a Zachotka, as well as in the teacher’s official markbook.  Students completing their final year may take their zachotka and show it to prospective employers.  Unfortunately this can lead to the practice of “selling” grades, at any level of the system.  It seems to be common practice in Kyrgyzstan, and apparently throughout the republics of the former Soviet Union, for teachers to accept payment for inflate a student’s grades.  This tendency is often attributed to the low wages received by educators.  Also, it not unknown for institutions to change a student’s grades in order to help them find suitable employment that will reflect favourably on the institution.  In recent years there have been a number of highly publicuised cases where teachers have been arrested having been caught “red handed” accepting a bribe.  That’s not to say that all grades are “bought and sold”, just that it is generally accepted that the practice exists.

Another aspect of corruption is seen as a particular problem takes the form of “selling” places on courses for Higher Education, (which is more difficult to control now than it used to be, as each institution has control over their own admissions policy).  There have been several attempts, (in 1993 2001 and 2003), to introduce a national testing system and/or a system of University entrance based on merit, measured by examination results, but with varying degrees of success.

Although a system of objective assessment might considered an essential for an effective educational system, there are drawbacks. For example, Kyrgyz school students have apparently performed badly in the Program for International Student Assessment, (PISA) – a worldwide evaluation of scholastic performance organized by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, (OECD).   The scheme assesses pupils in a variety of fields including Mathematics, Reading, Comprehension and Science.  Kyrgyzstan students came in last place in 2010 – well somebody has to but, all the same, it was the cause of considerable comment and anguish in the media.  The assessment is carried out once every three years and the previous time the ratings were published, (in 2006), Kyrgyzstan also came bottom of the table – in 57th place.  In 2010, however, there were 65 countries in the survey and so the results seem even worse.  The Ministry of Education, however, tried to put a positive spin on the publication of the results saying that even though Kyrgyzstan Students are holding up the rest of the table, there are signs of improvement in some areas and there were an awful lot of countries that did not take part in the Assessment.

On completing a course of study a student receives a Diploma. If their marks are sufficiently good they receive a “Red” diploma – which is the equivalent of a 5, or “Honours”. Others receive a Blue diploma. The diploma usually comes with an attachment which enumerates the units studied – subjects, hours studied and sometimes individual marks.

Officials in the country are also working on adapting courses and qualifications in order to meet the requirements of the Bologna Process for international mutual recognition, but because of the bureaucracy inherited from the Soviet Union, this is likely to take some time to achieve.

.

There is also a system for Professional or Vocational training, (designed to provide a route to specialist, professional qualifications), is provided be a number of special institutions:

• Primary Professional Education could be provided in specialist secondary schools or, for example, in training divisions in enterprises.
• Secondary Professional Education is intended to provide students who have completed High School with the necessary professional training for certain jobs and is normally provided in the form of a 4-year course of study at a specialist college, polytechnic or specialist school.

One problem facing these institutions is that they often serve a variety of roles, for example as orphanages or supporting children from disadvantaged homes.  It is not unusual to find very young children in the same institution, perhaps studying the same subjects, as school leavers or adult learners.

Vocational training is also provided by employers, either “in-house” for their own employees, or by joining together in an Association to provide short, courses which concentrate, for example, on specific skills.  One problem facing these courses is obtaining recognition for the certificates issued as the courses may not meet the requirements set by either the Ministry of Labour or the Ministry of Education, which tend to concentrate on long-term professional courses leading to a professional certification.

.

Higher Education is provided by Academies, Universities, Institutes and Higher Colleges.  Some offer a traditional 5-year course and others a three stage programme: a short (or incomplete) course, a Bachelor’s degree and an extended Master’s (which entitles them to teach their subject).

Some course, such as in medicine, are longer.  Courses at the Medical Academy typically last six years.

Despite the fact that spending on education is quite low (about 3% of GDP – UNESCO placed Kyrgyzstan 105th, out of 132 countries, for spending on education), over 40% of school-leavers enrolling in Tertiary education and Kyrgyzstan has one of the highest number of graduates per head of population.

One interesting feature of the Higher Education system is that, although some institutions and courses have an attendance requirement built  into the assessment scheme, it is sometimes possible for a student to arrange that they do not always have to attend lectures – but merely attend, (and pass), the examinations. In this way, many students hold down a job, earning a wage, and studying at the same time.

Nearly all courses have an element of “work experience”, or “practica” where students have to find placements as interns in some institution.  It can last anything from a few weeks to three months.  During their practica, they have to keep a diary, write a report and obtain a reference from their placement.

There are also a few examples of “sandwich courses” or sponsorships, where students are sponsored by an employer and they undertake to work with the employer during the vacation periods and for a time after graduation.

There are two methods of funding a placement at University – depending on the institution.  The government provides a number of places at some institutions paid where fees are paid for out of the budget, and there may be a small stipend or grant, (usually less than 1000 som a month).  Other places are “platniye” where students have to pay the fees – which can be expensive.  There have been attempts to provide student loans and forms of sponsorship to help them the expenses.

In addition, of course, they have other “living expenses” to meet.  Most institutions are in Bishkek or the regional centers, and student from outlying districts have to find accommodation.  Some institutions, however, offer special accommodation in Obshiye zhiteli, (dormitories), but these are usually quite basic.

The provision of Higher education has increased dramatically since independence with 34 institutions according to one list and 114 to another.  Some of these institutions have been links with other countries, such as America, (the American University of Central Asia), Turkey, (The Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University and Russia, (such as The Slavonic University).  The US government through various aid programmes has provided considerable assistance and Peace Corps volunteers have been particularly active in teaching English classes.

The student population has also grown since independence, from 65,000 to more than twice that number.

This is somewhat inflated by the number of foreign students who undertake courses in Kyrgyz universities.  There are, for example, a large number of Indians studying medicine at the Medical Academies in both Bishkek and Osh.  The American University of Central Asia also accept students from other countries and there have, apparently, been particular problems with recognition of their courses from Turkmenistan, which at one point barred their student from attending the university.

The growth in these numbers and the considerable overlap in the provision of courses have led to some concern. The Ministry of Education has, therefore established a list of eight institutions which will form the core Higher Education System. These institutions include: The Kyrgyz State National University; Osh State University; the Kyrgyz Technical University; The Kyrgyz Agrarian Academy; The Arabaeva Pedagogical University and the Batken, Naryn and Talas State Universities. Other institutions include:  the Bishkek Humanities University, two Turkish-Kyrgyz Universities, The American University, The Slavonic University, The Kyrgyz-Uzbek University, , regional universities in Chui, Djalal Abad, and Issyk Kul. The Aga Khan Foundation is also funding the establishment of a University of Central Asia, with campuses in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, (in Naryn).

One of the criticisms currently levied against the Higher Education system is a lack of responsiveness to student demands – and the needs of society (the “labour market”).  Courses where there is a high student demand, (presumably because they think that the course will enhance their future prospects), tend to be slow to develop and lack teachers and facilities. Other, more traditional courses may, in comparison, be embarrassed by the richness of provision and produce a surplus of certain kinds of specialists.  What’s more, many graduates find it difficult to obtain employment in their chosen field.

Postgraduate Education. There is also a system of postgraduate education. This may include preparing for a Doctorate – or conversion courses. It is also common for students to complete more than one course of Higher Education – say, one course in English and another in Law.

This exercise counts as part of their assessment, and the university wanted some practicing businessmen to help adjudicate and give some external element to the assessment.

I have done this before so knew roughly what to expect.  This year, however, there were only four teams, so it wasn’t going to be the “marathon” that we’ve had before – or, at least it shouldn’t have been – but as it turned out it took twice as long as we had thought it would … so there is something in the saying that “work expands to fill the time available”.

The plans were handed to me a few days earlier so I had the chance to read through them beforehand.

The marking scheme was quite simple – 20 points on which to judge their performance, then award a mark up to 5 for each.  The marks are then totaled and for a “pass” grade they have to exceed a threshold.

I smiled when I saw the marking sheet because although a mark of 5 was supposed to indicate an “Excellent” performance in that particular category, the rubric for 1 was “Needs Improvement” – and I reckon that, almost everything that isn’t excellent, “needs improvement”.  In fact, very few things are “perfect” and so it could be argued that even an “excellent” performance can be improved.

On more than one occasion, as a school teacher, I was faced with a pupil who looked at the piece of work as I handed it back whose face fell as the saw the amount of “red ink” on the front page, only to see it light up again when they turned to the last page and saw the final mark.  Although the work was good, there may have little mistakes, or points that could have been tackled differently to good effect.  Maybe something was missing, but that didn’t mean the piece of work was bad.  The “red ink” on an assignment can indicate corrections, or advice on how to improve.

So damaging can be the effect of a mass of red ink, that one school I came across in the UK, had adopted a policy where the first page was always marked rigourously and thoroughly, but subsequent pages were left free of any comment except the final mark.  Although I could the logic and understood the reason for adopting the policy, I found that difficult to take and was glad that I didn’t teach in that school.

Anyway, be that as it may, I have known some marking schemes that have been much more complex and although they are more “sophisticated” in that they can target and allow different weightings for particular skills, they tend to be much more difficult to interpret and apply.  This system was fair and easy to understand – and hence to implement.

The simplicity and ease of operating a marking scheme is not necessarily a useful guide to its effectiveness.  For example, as a novice teacher, in my first teaching post, I was faced with a five point grading scheme, (A to E), and the instructions were that the class was to be divided in the following way:  The top 10% of the class were to be awarded an “A” grade, the next 20% – a “B”, the next 30% – a “C”, the next 20% a “D” and the bottom 10% a “D”.  The idea was that pupils and parents could see how they had performed in comparison with their peers.  I followed the instructions explicitly – and then, “all hell broke loose”.  It seems that everyone else ignored the instructions. To make matters worse, one of my classes was a top-set Mathematics class, where everyone had been used to receiving straight “A”s and those to whom I had awarded a “B” were mystified and horrified – and you can imagine the effect on, and reaction of, those who were awarded an “E”.  No amount of explanation could appease them.  Although I thought was a good scheme in that it should have given clear idea of the pupils ranking in the class, like the rest of my colleagues, I duly ignored the scheme the next time round.

.

For this exercise there were three of us who served as judges: the course lecturer, (an MBA but also a businessman with a wide experience in his own right – so not just an academic), a foreign consultant here on a project which is just finishing, (a consultant, but one with a wide in a variety of businesses around the world) and me.

In the past the business plans presented as a part of this exercise have covered a wide range of possible business ideas, from photo booths and specialist cafes to opening a medical laboratory.  This year the ideas included a meat packing factory, a Counseling service, Event’s organizing and a company offering Cleaning services, (for offices and apartments).

Now, I tend to be a hard marker – I always have and I have to remind myself that these are just students, and, as such, they are young and relatively inexperienced, indeed, this may the first time they have undertaken such an exercise.

What’s more it is a part of their coursework, so they have to show what they have been learning as well as presenting a business plan.  As a result, the final documentation contained things like statistics which might or might not be appropriate in a particular case.

They all contained the essential elements: an executive summary; description of the proposal; a research into the current state of the market – competition, market research to justify the validity of the proposal; a personnel plan; an operations plan; a marketing strategy and plan; and the financial plan with projected balance sheets and cashflow forecasts.  One even went so far as to include an exit strategy which I thought showed particular foresight.

Of course, some were better prepared and implemented than others.

Sometimes there are oversights, important issues which are not considered, but on this occasion most of the groundwork had been solid and I was impressed.  They had clearly learned from their teachers what should be included, although, as I said, some were better than others.

Sometimes, there were basic errors.  On one particular case in the past, for example, a team had underestimated the rental cost in local shopping centres for their retail outlets, and this would have had a big impact on their financial plans and the viability of the business – although, in general, their proposal struck me as a good idea.

This time, some of the plans were based on the idea that the teams had already amassed the funding necessary to establish the business, so they weren’t plans that might be presented to a bank, or investment broker in order to raise finance.  Despite this, they managed to present the justification in such a way as to suggest that they really had done the work efficiently and effectively and not just as an exercise or assignment – something I have suspected to be the case in the past.

Each of the three judges tended to concentrate on particular issues.  In the past, one of the judges concentrated on the financials. I, on the other hand, tend to concentrate on the question of the clients – without clients, there is no business.  One of the things that always worries me when looking at a business plan – my own included – are the assumptions – especially about the level of potential business.  No-one knows what the future may bring, and unrealistic assumptions can lead to inflated forecasts and potential disaster as the hoped for business is not forthcoming.  I would have preferred to see more justification as to why they had chosen particular levels of business – and possibly different forecasts: conservative; “realistic” and optimistic.  This might also mean amendments to, or event different, organization strategies.

Although they all recognized that the businesses that they proposed would be new and have to break into the market, they didn’t seem to address some important points, (for example, the youth and apparent inexperience of the team members).  This would be especially important if they were seeking investment funding.  In some cases it might well be an advantage, but not in others.

They also seemed to stress that one of their competitive advantages would be that they would offer “quality” of service, however, they also claimed that they would be cheaper than their competitors.  Although price might well be an important factor when it comes to trying to gain a competitive advantage, I wasn’t convinced that this was a good strategy for them to follow – but one of the students in particular made a very good defence of their position.

I think that they could have all benefitted from a bit more preparation when it came to the presentations – i.e. they could have rehearsed a bit more … all of them overran and that could be quite crucial if making a pitch for funding to a bank or potential investor.

.

All of the proposals were interesting although I am not sure that the plans, themselves, would have got me to part with cash as an investor.  As I said, it’s always possible to do better and all of the plans had moments which I felt were in need of improvement.  However, I was impressed with the approach of the students and the fact that had undertaken some interesting research and thought through their presentations quite well.  They showed a confidence which was refreshing – especially when you consider that they were writing and speaking in English, which is not their native language.  I wish I could do so well in Russian.

All in all, it was an interesting experience and I was glad that I had agreed to take part.

I was sitting a Geography exam once, and was completely thrown.  I really prepared well for the exam.  I had noticed that the first question on the Physical Geography paper was always about glaciation – and glaciation was one topic that I felt I knew back to front.  So when it came time to turn the question paper over and read the question, you can imagine my surprise when I read: “To what extent can the landform of these islands be attributed to the Pleistocene period.”  I was not only “thrown” … I was confused, dumfounded, devastated.  OK – If I really knew glaciation “back to front” then I should have known that it was the technical name for the Ice Age.

Fortunately, as I went through the rest of the paper looking, (unsuccessfully, of course), for the glaciation question I found there were other questions that I was able to answer.  In the end, I got my pass grade.

Incidentally, RF Delderfield, in his novel “To serve them all my days”, has one of his characters tell his Science class that first question on the Biology paper was always about Blood, and he dictated to them the first line for their essay … which they were supposed to learn and quote word for word … as it would convince the examiner that they were not the dunces that they might be.

If only it was that easy!

I was very lucky in another exam that I sat … There were twelve questions on the paper and we had to answer five.  My mood went from bad to worse as I read through them … I didn’t like question one, and question two wasn’t much better … and neither was number three … and so it went on for question after question ,,, it wasn’t necessarily that I didn’t know the answers, but I didn’t feel very confident that I could do myself justice if I tackled them.

Then I came to question number eight and I picked up my pen.  At last a question that I felt I could answer and not dry up half way through.  One of my tutors once told me that he liked my essay very much, he was enjoying it very much, but …   What a horrible word that is, “but …”.  The trouble was, he said that I started off well and was just getting going, and then it suddenly came to an end … I didn’t see the problem.  I thought I had answered the question, and written a pretty full answer given the time available … but, (there it is again), he seemed to think that I could have gone on and said more … much more.  Anyway, I wasn’t going to run out of steam on question eight.

Incidentally – I know that I shouldn’t have picked up my pen until I had read the paper all the way through … but by the time I got to question eight I was beginning to feel quite demoralized.  I was so happy to find a question I liked.

When I finished question eight I turned to question nine, confident that I had at least one reasonable answer under my belt.  I was feeling even better when I read the question … this was another one that I felt happy about and so picked up my pen and started work on constructing an answer.

Question ten was a good one as well … as were eleven and twelve.  In the end I got my five answers – and a pass grade … but thank goodness there weren’t just seven questions on the paper, or I would have been in serious trouble.

Now, the standard tactic often used by students when they meet a question they don’t like is to change it into one that they do like by changing a word, or two.

Of course it is not a very good tactic, because if the question is about the reason for Britain’s entry into the First World War, there’s not much point in pretending it really says the Second World War and writing about Chamberlain, Munich, Hitler and Poland … but, unfortunately, many students do try this.  I know from my days as an examiner.

This all came to mind because the other day I was watching a lecture by Professor David Starkey and he actually referred to it … apparently he surprised at one conference when he saw the topic he was supposed to be giving a lecture on was “Anniversaries and events that have, or have not, changed the course of history”, but he had prepared something quite different.

He announced that he was going to change the word “history” and substitute it with “Cambridge” … which more or less fitted with what he had prepared.  Fortunately, he is a professor and was delivering a lecture to a conference and not a student sitting an examination … so he was able to get away with it.

Anyway, it reminded me of speech I had to give a short while ago.  Actually, someone else was booked to give the speech, but had to drop out because of another urgent meeting, and he asked me to give the speech in his stead.  It happened to be a subject I felt confident about, as I had given similar talks on it before … even in my faltering Russian … so you can imagine my surprise, confusion, dismay when I arrived on the morning of the conference to read on the programme a totally different title for my speech.

To make matters worse, there were several different versions of the programme circulating in the room – and each version seemed to have a different title …

I approached the organizers and explained my dilemma.  “Don’t worry,” they said, “just deliver the speech that you have prepared.”

As it happens, I was rescued because time was running out.  Several of the earlier speeches over ran, and because it was a jubilee, marking the fifteenth anniversary of an Institute of Higher Education, there was much back slapping and congratulations.  In the end, there wasn’t enough time for me to deliver my speech, so I adlibbed.

The Conference was called ‘The Third International Scholarly-Practical Conference “Business and Education: Interaction and Development”‘  … and this is, more or less, what I said …

BFEA has long been involved in tourism.  They were one of the founder members of The Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators, (KATO), and for many years provided both the secretariat and a venue for our meetings – until, that is, we grew too large for all the members to be accommodated in their Library.

They have been especially active in the field of Ecotourism, one of the themes of this year’s conference, producing an excellent textbook on Ecological Management with particular reference to the management of Sanatoria and other enterprises in the Issyk Kul tourist zone, and establishing the Chamber of Ecological Auditors with an aim to establish standards and certification for hotels, resorts, sanatoria, etc..

I must say that I like the title of the conference – with one reservation.

“The third conference” … which means it is not a “one-off”, but part of a series of such events.  Once could say that as the third such conference it has already established itself as a regular feature – almost a tradition.  In English, we have a saying that “Rules are made to be broken, but Traditions are meant to be kept”!  Let us hope that the practice of holding such conferences will indeed continue and as a tradition.

“International” …  to me, both as a foreigner (an Englishman), and as I work in tourism, this is very important.  Kyrgyzstan is a small country – richly endowed in many respects, but a small country and it cannot hope to survive in the modern world if it remains in splendid isolation.  We live in a “Global Village” with a network of interconnecting economies.  As an international conference, today’s event helps us to put the situation in Kyrgyzstan into a context: a regional context, a world context – and as such helps us to understand ourselves and our situation much more clearly.

How often do we hear, (or use), the phrases “European standard” or “international standard”? – especially when someone wants to criticise or denigrate local business and practice.  It is true that we can learn a lot from abroad: international experience can widen our horizons; it can give us new ideas and techniques to employ in our activities; it can provide us with standards and benchmarks to compare ourselves and place ourselves on a global scale.  We should also remember, however, that Kyrgyzstan is not, for example, Russia, or the United Kingdom, or Turkey, or anywhere else.  We have our own specific situation and circumstances so that what works in one country may not work here.  We need to learn from other people’s experience about what works well, in what circumstances and why, and then to adapt it to meet our own situation.

We should also remember that we in Kyrgyzstan have much to offer and it should be a dialogue – not a lecture, not a one way transfer of knowledge, skills and experience.

“Scholarly-Practical” … again, to me this is very important.  Theory is all well and good, but in practice the real world may throw up many things to upset theory.  On the other hand, practice without a firm foundation in theory is a recipe for chaos.  We need both.   Again, we need a dialogue.

“Business and Education” … I suppose that this is an extension of “scholarly-practical” with Business representing the practical, real world, and Education the scholarly, theoretical.  Business and Education don’t exist in isolation, we need one another.  Education needs business as the future employers of their graduates.  Business needs Education to provide the next generation of our employees, and colleagues.  There is a saying that “Our children are our future” and if we are to be fair to them then we to equip them as best we can to meet the trials and difficulties that they are likely to encounter in later life.  It is no good if Education provides graduates unsuited to work in our businesses in the real world, nor if it produces graduates who don’t have the theoretical background, experience, adaptability and flexibility to meet and overcome new and unfamiliar situations.

If I have one reservation about the title, it is this: I think you are missing two important players, or stakeholders, – Government and Society.

“Interaction and Development” … interaction means communication and dialogue … and this conference is an example of that dialogue, bringing together both academics and businessmen.

KATO also offers another platform for that dialogue.  Although it is the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators, we have a wide range of institutions represented in our membership.   At present we have fifty three members – most of them are tour companies involved in “inbound tourism”, that is we bring tourists into the country and show them the variety of splendours that the country has to offer, whether that is the landscape, the wildlife, the places connected with the rich historical heritage of the country, or the traditional culture and lifestyle of the nomadic Kyrgyz.  Some of our companies are large, well established firms which have been operating for nearly twenty years, whilst others are smaller, perhaps a small family business, and newer, some having started operating only in the last year or so.  Some of our members also work in the “outbound tourism” market, sending local people abroad as tourists; offer other services such as insurance or rescue services; or operate hotels in Bishkek, pensionats, hotels, resorts or sanatoria on Lake Issyk Kul.

We also have three institutes of Higher Education as members – including BFEA, which was, as I said, one of our founding members and has been an active member of the Association throughout our existence.

One thing that they all have in common is that they have been accepted as members by others who work in the industry, who recognize them as serious and experienced people.  Together the members are responsible for the general policy of the Association; there is President and Presidium to oversee the day to day operations and an executive director to implement the various activities of the Association.

Amongst those activities is work on providing training for those who work, (both now and future potential employees), in tourism – drawing together both educational institutions and businesses amongst our members.  The staff of BFEA, for example, contributed to one of our publications, a handbook for guides, and we were able to arrange sponsorship for the publication of “The Road of Chingiz Aitmatov” – which was course material prepared by students of the Academy.

We see this vital if our businesses, (and tourism in Kyrgyzstan in general), are to grow and develop.  Tourism is a service industry – our customers do not buy material objects from us, but an experience.  That experience depends on many things, such as the landscape, the facilities and infrastructure, but above it depends upon the professionalism and expertise of the personnel who work in the industry.

In fact, in the Tourism sector there is a lot of cooperation between business and educational institutions, which goes far beyond the traditional practice of providing students with internships, (or work experience placements – “practica”).  I would appeal to all businessmen to follow this example and become involved in preparing the next generation for work in their industry.  Likewise, I would appeal to all those in Education to involve business in their courses: in the design of courses; delivery (invite businessmen as guest speakers, to try and make sure that they incorporate into their courses practical examples drawn from real life …); examinations and assessment.

Once again, I want to stress that this represents interaction, cooperation and dialogue, between partners – it is not, and should not be, a case of one side trying to domineer or dominate the other.

(For the record: This is only one aspect of the activities that we undertake.  Amongst the others are disseminating information, including publishing materials; marketing, (Volodya Petrov, our Executive Director, who was supposed to be speaking here today, is currently representing the Association in the Bishkek International Tourism Fair); lobbying, (for example: attending meetings, round tables, consultations over issues such as the new draft law “On Tourism”, Visa reform, or tax reform); and representing members before government bodies and other agencies.

Our mutual aim or target of our interaction is to achieve Development.

As businessmen, of course, we want to our businesses develop and grow and it is easy to think of an Association such as ours as existing only to represent and protect the interests of its members.  Although this is indeed one of our tasks, the overriding principle of what we do is always to develop the industry so that it becomes a major sector of the Kyrgyz Economy.  This is not just a case of self interest, (although we obviously hope that visitors to the country will use our services, however, we do have to acknowledge the fact that there is a growing tendency for people to prefer to travel as “independent travellers”).  Like Kyrgyzstan in the wider world, we cannot operate in isolation.  We rely on other service providers, be it the owners of yurts or homestays, hotels, cafes and restaurants, museums, folklore groups – and also banks, providers of internet services, medical practitioners and other services in the wider community, including institutes of higher education.

So, in closing, I would like to congratulate BFEA on its 15 years of successful activities; on the occasion of this third International Scholarly-Practical Conference “Business and Education Interaction and Development” and especially on the title they have chosen which encompasses so much and gives a clear indication of how to proceed.

The other day I happened to be listening to some music and started to sing along … and the people in the office were somewhat surprised at this, and commented: “Ian, we’ve never heard you sing before.”  In itself, that shouldn’t really be a surprise, because I tend to restrict my singing to private moments like sitting in the bath … when no-one can hear me.  The trouble is that I cannot sing … well, of course I can sing but to be honest I can’t sing in tune and cannot hold a tune.

Despite this,  when I was at school I took part in a number of performances of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas: The Mikado; Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore – hidden away in the chorus, not as a soloist.

As an impressionable schoolboy the convoluted plots with their simplified morality, catchy tunes combined with the thrill and atmosphere of greasepaint and being on stage was seductive.   Although my performing was limited to those three, I developed a liking for Gilbert and Sullivan … and especially their classic ‘The Yeoman of the Guard’.  There is something very peculiarly English about Gilbert and Sullivan, grounded in Victorian culture and the British Empire, with Gilberts satirical comments about great British institutions, such as the House of Lords in Iolanthe, and Sullivan’s catchy music with traces of popular music hall tunes mixed with hints of grandeur, classical symphony and grand opera, which follow a regular and predictable pattern.

One of the things I learned from my turn on the stage in these three operettas was the importance of the opening number and the grand finale – or as the teacher who produced the shows put it … “We need to start and end on a high”.

The point was reinforced on a “Handling the Media” course I attended … amongst the advice we received was that it’s all very well to present the facts, but a press release or statement needs to have an opening which will catch the editor’s attention and encourage them to read on … and a powerful, “punchy”, conclusion, … and the two should be linked in some way.  One of the examples given in a talk by an editor of a local newspaper concerned a story about a war veteran, which began in a pedestrian manner introducing the hero and then followed his life story chronologically.  It was only in the final paragraph that it was revealed that the artillery shell that he had had kept as a souvenir and was using as a doorstop turned out to be “live” and could have exploded at any moment.  Not only an interesting fact, but one which contained a vital message about the dangers of such “souvenirs” and the need to take proper precautions.  The problem was that it was almost included as an add-on, as if it was merely an afterthought.  How many readers would have persevered and got to the final paragraph?

All of this came to mind last week because one of the podcasts that I have subscribed to included an interesting discussion in the latest episode about the last words of novels …

Apparently there has been a newspaper article in a major British newspaper on the topic … and although people seem to be able to remember the openings of several novels, they rarely ever seem to be able to remember the closing words.  The author raised several reasons why this might be the case, including:

• openings are more memorable because they set the scene.  The author and their story are fresh and new and the opening needs to be “attention grabbing”, so that the reader wants to – is driven to – continue, whereas by the time the reader gets to the closing words the author and the story are already running out of steam;
• the role of the opening words are to “grab the reader’s attention” and encourage them to read on but that of the closing words is to round off the story and bring it to a close … (although in these days of sequels, trilogies, multi volume sagas and so on, that seems less relevant than it might have done in the past);
• the endings of novels tend to be disappointing – “If I had been the author, I wouldn’t have ended it like that …” – How often do we feel let down as we close a book having read the final page and closed the covers for the last time?

Classic opening lines might include “Once upon a time …” yes, well … numerous fairly tales are supposed to start with this, and the phrase brings the comfort of familiarity before the strangeness of the story settle in … and many fairy tales are strange … and disturbing … just look at the original stories published by the Brothers’ Grimm before one of their other brothers bowdlerized them.  Other examples which occur to me are:

• “In the beginning …”, (the Bible)
• “To begin at the beginning …”, (Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas)
• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …”, (A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens)
• “It was a dark and stormy night …” (originally by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton in his story Paul Clifford, but hijacked by Snoopy, the Peanuts Beagle in many a cartoon by Charles Schultz)
• “It was love at first sight.” (Catch-22, by Joseph Heller)
• “Mother died today.” (The Stranger by Albert Camus)
• “All this happened, more or less.” (Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut)
• “Call me Ishmael”, (Moby Dick, by Herbert Melville)
• “It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen .” (1984, by George Orwell)
• “I had the story bit by bit from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.” (Elthan Frome, by Edith Wharton)
• “It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.”, (Earthly Powers, by Anthony Burgess)

Perhaps the opening line that is most frequently quoted by people taking part in surveys is Dickens’ “It was the Best of times, it was the worst of times …”.  In fact the line is extremely well crafted list of eight opposites that compliment each other almost like poetry:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

In the same book, Dickens also provides a contender for one of the best and most memorable closing lines: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”  Apart from drawing the story to a close with a very definite ending, perhaps it is not quite as final as a simple “The End”.

Dickens is a bit more positive in ‘A Christmas Carol’ with: “And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”, and the classic ending of fairy tales, “… and they all lived happily ever after” places the story in a continuum of time – life goes on … Margaret Mitchell also achieved this with the ending of ‘Gone with the Wind’: “After all, tomorrow is another day.”

As a teacher I am conscious of that important principle of repetition.  When delivering a lesson, cover the ground four times: Start by telling the class what you are going to tell them … tell them … then tell them what you’ve told them … and finally ask them what you have told them.  Set the scene, give the detail, summarize and the test.

In English, there is a tradition that the most important information is introduced at the outset, at the beginning of a book, a paragraph or even a sentence.  It sets the scene and informs the reader of the context and purpose of the book, letter or article, or of the paragraph, and what follows is supporting information.   When writing a reference, for example, I usually begin with a simple sentence … “I am writing to support the visa application of xxx to visit the United Kingdom”; follow it with paragraphs outlining who I am, how I know the person, what I know about the person and why I think they should be given the visa; and then round everything off with a recommendation such as “I am happy to recommend that xxx should be granted a visa …”.  The test, of course, comes in the decision of the consul – whether they agree with me and grant the visa, or not.

When I was learning the art of Precis, (creating a summary), we were told that we should avoid the temptation to simply reproduce the first sentence of each paragraph … on the basis that everything else in the paragraph should be supporting information, illustrating the main point which was made in the opening sentence.

Perhaps that is another contributing reason as to why opening lines are so memorable in English …

In Russian, on the other hand, the emphasis is on the ending … the justification comes first and then the important information comes at the end.

The importance of Beginnings and endings is relevant in other walks of life as well …

Take, for example, the case of tourists visiting the Kyrgyzstan for the first time.  The airport and officials managing the Immigration and Customs controls are, after all the first face of the country that many visitors will encounter.  International flights usually arrive at Manas Airport. in Bishkek, in the early hours of the morning.  After a restless night with any sleep they have managed to grab in flight disturbed by having to disembark and run the gauntlet of Customs and Immigration procedures could hardly be described as a “high spot” of anyone’s holiday.

The same is true when it comes to departure … having to arrive at the airport in the early hours of the morning, in ample time to go through the necessary formalities

To be fair, the authorities in Bishkek have done much to help alleviate the discomfort and unpleasantness of the experience.  The airport building itself ahs been renovated and although they couldn’t do much about the basic architecture, the modern bright, colourful, clean and spacious halls are a welcome change and far removed from the drab, grey, monolithic, Soviet blocks that I encountered when I first arrived here fourteen years ago.  There are still problems, however, as visitors have to stand in long lines and officials rarely offer a welcoming smile.  At times these officials can be very helpful … but at others they can also be very officious and bureaucratic … and their dedication to their duty and can make them appear dour and makes for an unwelcoming experience.   It is true that they have a job to do, (and it is a very important job – safeguarding the gateway to the country), but it would give a much better impression and create a much more pleasurable experience for the visitor if there were enough officials on duty to offer a speedy and efficient service, delivered with a smile and perhaps a simple phrase, such as: “Welcome to Kyrgyzstan, we hope you enjoy your stay”, or “We hope you enjoyed your stay in Kyrgyzstan, and hope to see you again”, (neither of which costs anything but they can make such a difference, especially before or after a long and tiring journey.

These are issues that those of us working in tourism have been trying to press home for some years … the fact that we are still trying is evidence that we have not yet, unfortunately, succeeded in getting the message across.

Let’s hope for a good, a happy, ending to this particular story.

The obvious question that came to my mind was “why?” … First of all, his degree is in Restaurant Management … so why Chemistry?  His answer was that he had studied Chemistry as part of his course … he really enjoyed the subject had even participated in a National Chemistry Olympiad.  He felt that perhaps he had made the wrong career choice earlier in life … but at the time there hadn’t been the opportunities to enroll on a chemistry course.  I must admit that, given my history, I had some sympathy with this – although I doubted if he had enough background to teach the subject.

Secondly, why did he think he could be a teacher.  Some people think that teaching is easy … after all, everyone has been through school and observed many different examples of teachers at work – some successful and inspiring … others less so.  Everyone seems to be an educational expert.  I have even heard some tell me that “all you have to do is stand up at the front of the class and spout some facts, mark a few books and you are free to go home at four o’clock”.  Put like that I suppose it does sound easy … if only that was the case.

There is a lot more to it than that, however.  I remember when I first realized that simply knowing something didn’t necessarily mean that you could teach it to someone else … I was about 15 or 16 at the time and some people from church who knew that I was good at Maths, asked if I could help their son, who was about two years younger than me, because he was having difficulty.  I wasn’t sure about this, mainly because we didn’t really get on … he was an only child and “very full of himself” … but I said I would have a go.  I can’t remember the topic but it was something straightforward like Pythagoras – you have so know some basic facts, apply a formula and get the answer … the sums were easy, but “problems” could be a little more difficult because you had to find you way through the words to discover exactly what was going on and the words were a distraction.  He couldn’t get it and at one point I exclaimed “Come on, it’s easy!” to which he replied … “It is when you know how.”

This experience was not exactly a success and I don’t think I inspired him … but it didn’t put me off.   I had quite a pleasant time at school … got on well with the teachers and my peers … liked my subjects … and on the basis of this positive background and stories like “Goodbye Mr. Chips”, like so many others, I thought that teaching would be an easy career.

Once I got to college, I soon came to realize that there was a lot more to it.  As well as studying my subject, developing my own skills and placing what I had already learned into a wider context, we studied the educational system and the history of it’s development, psychology and sociology (child development, socialization, how people see, how people remember, motivation …. )  and other practical skills that we would need such as educational technology (the use of duplicators, tape recorders, overhead projectors, video players and that sort of thing …); voice projection; presentation of displays, worksheets etc.  To be fair, some of it seemed superfluous, like “teaching your grandmother to suck eggs” … and there were lots of things that I think we perhaps ought to have covered but never did … but I suppose they only had three years … and a lot of ground to cover.

In my three years of training I did teaching practice in three very different schools … and taught a wide variety of subjects and classes … children of various ages and abilities … one thing they all seemed to have in common was that they were totally different from what I had expected.  There is no way that those three teaching practices prepared me for what was to follow … but they did provide food for thought …

My teaching career proper began in a large rural comprehensive school – on three sites so there was a fair amount of traveling to do throughout the day.  I was Teacher in Charge of Religious Education … the only teacher of Religious Education, as it happened.  Being the only one, however, I couldn’t take every class and there were a couple of people to help me … but basically I was left on my own devices.

The classes were not very interested in Religion … it was very much a chore and very little of what be called “traditional religion” seemed to grab their imagination.  Bible stories were a real “turn off” – and I had to be very careful how I introduced them.  Something with a practical element like “ethics” or “logic” sparked some discussion but the real surprise was when I introduced an element of comparative religion … they were very interested in this – especially as we based the work on a newly published book set in an inner city, multi cultural school.  One of the reasons it was such a surprise was that everything was so alien … an inner city school – but we were in a rural community; multi-cultural – when the one we were in was mono-cultural, Christian.  The only thing they had in common with the characters in the book was their ages.

I also had some Maths classes and because I saw them several times instead of just once a week, I got to them much better than the other classes.

It wasn’t all classroom based … one of my tasks was to organize the school’s big charity event … one of the Senior teachers was a great supporter of Christian Aid and every year they had a big fund raising effort for the organization … one year I was given the job of supervising the stage lighting for school productions … not that I really knew anything about the subject and had to do a lot of rapid learning … but, fortunately there was a pool of talented sixth formers who knew a lot more about it than I did and were quite happy to get on with it.

There were several incidents which stick in my mind from this time.  One involved a pupil who wrote an essay for me.  It was his first piece of written work for me and when I handed it back I said that there was one point I didn’t understand … to which he replied, “Oh, so you did read it then?”  Pardon?  Apparently he would often write a bit of gobbledygook, nonsense, somewhere in the middle to see if the teacher actually read it.  It seems I had passed with flying colours.

In another I did not do so well.   A pupil stayed behind after the end of a lesson and told me a sad and disturbing story.  His grandmother had died recently and had returned and was haunting him.  They held conversations.  These events were accompanied by flashing lights.  I didn’t know what to say … I felt very uncomfortable … I “passed the buck” and told him to talk to the local vicar as he knew the grandmother and would be able to advise him what to do.  To this day I am still uncomfortable about this … and I still don’t know what I should have done, what else I could have done.  The disturbing thing about this story, however, took place several years later … when I went on a course about “Dealing with Loss” … that is bereavement.  There panels of sociologists and psychiatrists and when I told the story, hoping, expecting to get some helpful advice … they burst out laughing.  To be fair … I think they were just as surprised, shocked and as much at a loss as I was … but it didn’t make me feel any better.

The Headteacher of the school had a basic rule of thumb … the first year a teacher worked in the school, especially if they were a probationary teacher like me, (that is they were newly qualified and new to teaching), then they were basically “taking” from the school – gaining experience and additional “on the job training”.  Everything is a new experience.  During the Second year its a case of “fifty-fifty” … they are still learning, but they are also putting into practice that they learned in the first year.  By the time they get to the third year, they are “giving back” to the school.  Now, it seemed to me, (and still does), that that’s a bit crude, but there is a lot of truth in it and it makes a lot sense in a school situation where there is a clear annual cycle.   Anyway, I did my three years and and then felt that it was time to move on … so I started looking around for the next step in my career.

I applied for a job in London … returning to my “first love”, Mathematics.  In fact, I didn’t get the job … at the interview we were told that someone else had been appointed, but “it was a close decision and thanks for applying”.  So, I got quite a surprise a few days later when I got a phone call saying that the successful applicant had to withdraw and asking if I was still interested in the job.  Yes, I was, and so  moved to London where I was to stay for the next seventeen years.

Having been, nominally at least, my own boss as “Teacher in charge of Religious Education”, I now joined the rank and file as ordinary classroom teacher.  I had fewer groups to get to know, (as an Religious Studies teacher I saw about 300 pupils every week … and it was difficult to learn all their names, but now I was down to about half that, which was a lot easier), and I was teaching a subject which, even if it wasn’t popular with everyone, was thought to be useful and not just a “necessary chore”, a statutory obligation.  I got on well with the classes – although, yes, there were “ups and downs”.

Although it was a city school, it was suburban rather than an inner-city school.  It was multi-cultural with large Jewish, Cypriot, (both Greek and Turkish), and Asian communities.  Most of the time these groups got on well together – although, particularly in my early years, there was a sizeable group of “skinheads” under the influence of the National Front.

The “three year rule” seemed to come into play once more … no, I wasn’t really looking for a new job, but one came along.  This time, I didn’t have to apply – it was offered to me.  The funny thing is that I probably wouldn’t have applied for it.  As it happened, the second in the Department got a job as Head of Maths in another school and so there was a vacancy.  I assumed that the second in the department ought to be someone with, at least, a Maths degree – but, fortunately for me, the Head of Department and the Headteacher didn’t seem to agree. Now, when you are offered promotion like this, it is difficult to turn it down – and I didn’t.

I was fortunate in that I that there was a Statistics class that needed a teacher … now Statistics was my applied option … so I was asked to take it.  A short while later I was asked by the local technical college to teach Statistics to an adult education evening class.  I wouldn’t say that I was in “seventh heaven” but I was beginning to feel that I had “landed on my feet”.

The next big move came when yet another teacher moved on … she taught one of the two computing classes, and as they were timetabled at the same time, the other teacher couldn’t take it over, so someone else was needed.  You’ve guessed it … I was asked.  Now, up to this point I knew nothing about computers.   My “computing” experiences were limited to log tables, slide rule,  hand operated, rotary,  mechanical calculating machines and simple electronic calculators.  I had the summer to prepare, so I took home a set of text books and worked through them during the summer holidays.  It wasn’t much of a grounding, but it was before the days of microcomputers … and I got away with it.

Practical work at that time involved writing programs on sheets of paper and sending these “coding sheets” off to the local technical college, where they were types into a terminal and we received the results a few days later.  They rarely ever worked first time, so even a simple program often took several weeks to complete.  We then got a terminal installed in the school which speeded the process up – but it was with the introduction of the RM380Z microcomputer that things really started to take off.  At first we worked with just one microcomputer – but the BBC launched a special educational programme complete with a specially designed, affordable, microcomputer.  The Head saw the adverts for the special, limited offer, and decided to spend what little spare cash the school had to buy some … and things started to move rapidly.

Now, he was even less technically minded than I was – but he saw the future coming … and I congratulate him for that.

As a result we put together a programme – a pioneering programme.  Up until that point, Computing was always seen as a specialist subject – very much maths-orientated with lots of programming … not much in terms of word processing, spreadsheets, design, etc.   We talked about a new kind of course and I drew up a proposal for Computer Awareness course to be taught to all pupils … not computer studies or computer science but concentrating on the use of computers.  No-one else in the neighbourhood was offering similar courses.  We were pioneers, pathfinders.  He asked me to become Head of Computing and introduce the course- and that’s I got my second promotion.

I am amazed when I think back at what we were able to achieve with so little … to start with just one room with ten simple computers which were in use from 7:30 in the morning until 5:50, or later in the evening.  Later we got a suite of three rooms with PC’s but they were still very basic.  They were heady days.

There is a phrase in English that describes the ennui that occurs in the course of a relationship: “the seven year itch”.  Apparently, after seven years the partners in a relationship feel the drive to seek new openings, new opportunities.  At Ashmole it took, not seven years, but seventeen.  To be honest, I was beginning to feel jaded and in need of a change.  The opportunity came when my friend Tony offered me the chance to come to Kyrgyzstan.  He suggested a year would be sufficient to open an office … and I was tempted.  When I was at college the James commission suggested that teachers should be offered the chance to undertake a sabbatical once every seven years, (another example of the seven year itch?), and I thought then that it was a good idea.  It would enable teachers to take a break, catch up on ideas and theories that would help them to make their teaching more relevant and practical … I still think that.  However, the option was never implemented and to come to Kyrgyzstan would have meant giving up my job and a career that I had invested much over the years to develop.  For this reason, I wasn’t very keen.  The crucial point came when the school said that they would grant me a sabbatical … they would appoint a temporary replacement for the year and keep my job available for me … even if I decided not to come back to the UK and they would have to find a permanent replacement.  After seventeen years in one school, even if my role had changed several times, I was suffering from fatigue and in search of new and different challenges.  It seemed too good a chance to miss.

To be fair, I thought I would return to the UK and to teaching … but as it turned out … I ended up staying here longer than planned, (“the best laid plans of mice and men …” … and all that!).

I ended up staying and giving up a career that had meant much to me.  On the other hand that same career had also given me much and taught me much.  It was to be extremely useful to me in my time in Kyrgyzstan.

However, my career in formal education did not end with my move to Kyrgyzstan … I have maintained links with training and occasionally give lectures or conduct seminars on a variety of courses … and I feel that sometimes I still have a contribution to offer in this field and my experience as a practitioner is an invaluable element to this.

The Chase High School

I wasn’t a particularly good student at school. In fact I still have my school report where one of my teachers commented: “Ian works well when he can’t avoid it” … and I still wonder why he couldn’t have stuck with the traditionally tried and tested: “Could do better”, but it was at least original and showed that I wasn’t just “one of the crowd”.

During my Primary school years (from age five to eleven for those who don’t know the English educational system) I went to the Malvern Link County Primary School which was a ten minute walk from home. It might not have been very far, but when you are that age, those ten minutes can seem like an age and I am always amazed whenever I return to see how close it really was to home. It was in my last years at that school that I found a liking and (minor) talent for Mathematics … the crucial moment was when we started algebra … x times y equals xy, a times b equals ab … hey, I could that, no problem – even if I had no real idea at that time what was actually going on, it caught my imagination and I was no longer “afraid” of “sums”.

The School Badge

At the time when I was growing up the secondary education system in England, (following the principles laid down after the Second World War and based on what we now know as the flawed researches of Sir Edward Birt), divided youngsters at the age of eleven into “Grammar School” or “Secondary Modern”. I “failed” the dreaded eleven-plus examination and ended up going to the “non-selective” Chase Secondary Modern, (which was later renamed the Chase High School – allegedly because some posh school in the North of the county didn’t want to lose it’s “High School” name – and is known as The Chase Technology College). The school is still there and going strong according to the reports I read on the internet. It is one of the largest schools in Worcestershire with 1700 pupils and a staff of 200.

I still think that failing that examination was an important turning point which helped to shape the course of the rest of my life. Indeed, if I am feeling a little mischievous, sometimes when I get asked: “Why did you end up in Kyrgyzstan?”, I answer: “because I failed the eleven plus.” Seriously though, it limited the options available to me later in life – and this is something which has always rankled and, as a result, I always try to make sure now that I leave as many options open and available for as long as possible … Another of my mottos: “don’t close doors until you have to”.

Let me explain.

The Chase was a good school, with a good catchment area and got good results. Although not an outstanding student, I was a relatively good student – and frequently came out top of the year in Maths. True to the school motto, (“First, or with the first”), we were one of the few Secondary Modern schools at that time to offer A-Levels, (needed for university entrance). But … that was mainly in the Arts and Humanities – there were no sciences offered at this level – indeed the school didn’t even offer, (and I have never studied), Chemistry. I was the third person in the school’s history to sit A-Level Maths, and the first to pass. Things were changing, however, and the following yeargroup were given the options of studying Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

Although I had done O-Level Physics in my final year of compulsory education, (O-level was the equivalent of the School Leaving Certificate or Diploma), it wasn’t available to me at A-level and so my other subjects were Geography and Religious Education. If I hadn’t been able to study Maths then I would have liked to have done History – another subject I find fascinating – but for some reason I got bumped out of the class a few months before the examinations at the end of my final year of compulsory education. Although I wasn’t an outstanding student, I was, (even if I say so myself), better than mediocre, so why was I bumped off the course? I think it was just that they thought I wasn’t pulling my weight and would struggle to cope with eight examination subjects. Maybe they were right, but I decided to go back and try again the following year … and came out with a top grade – I like to think “that showed them!”

It’s a pity that Physics wasn’t available … because Maths and Physics tend to go together. There’s a strong relationship between Mechanics, a branch of Physics and Applied Mathematics. Usually the two subjects supplement and help each other. I didn’t have that option available and so Maths Teacher decided that it would be better for me to learn Statistics … and I am very grateful for that because it has turned out to be a great boon as things turned out in subsequent years. One thing it has taught me is to always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS question statistics – especially when they are thrown around with great abandon … because they always seem to raise more questions than they answer.

One of the great things about studying A-Level Maths, was that I was the only student in the class. Now, in some ways, that was great … lots of individual attention … but in other ways it was terrible … lots of pressure and no-one to share or discuss the difficult bits with. I always remembered this when I later became a teacher in my own turn and had classes of just one student.

One of the great lessons I learnt at school was not on the formal curriculum – delegation. There was no syllabus, no coursework or final examination, it was just something that was part of the ethos of the place. In a hangover from Public Schools, the teachers gave responsibility to senior students. It wasn’t just a case of being “board monitor” – although some teachers did appoint those. The school operated a Prefect system – and apparently still does. In my last year of compulsory schooling, (the Fifth year), I was made a prefect and given jobs to do including supervising younger kids during break times. The following year, what was then called the Lower Sixth, I became a House Captain, responsible for organizing events and sports teams … we never did that well, but it was good training for later life. In my final year, the Upper Sixth, I reached the pinnacle and was made Head Boy. I remember being told by one of the teachers that: “We can’t be everywhere, we can’t do everything … that’s why we have prefects.” Another useful lesson which I have carried with me throughout the rest of my life.

Let’s start with the simple and the obvious … my name is Ian Claytor. I am British and was born on 8th March, 1953, in Malvern, Worcestershire.

Ian is a Scottish name, (it’s the Scottish equivalent of John, or “God’s Gift”), although there is nothing Scottish about the family. There aren’t that many Claytors around … and it seems that the Malvern branch of the family originally came from Nottinghamshire. There’s a family legend that tells that we are descended originally from a family called Clayton, who were local squires and landowners, but there was a scandal involving a gypsy girl and a curse placed on the “seventh son of the seventh son” … they seem to have gone in for big families in those days … and in an attempt to overcome the curse one of my ancestors changed his name by replacing the final letter, an “n”, with an an “r”. (An attempt to create an “alpha effect” with an “omega change”, as Arthur C. Clarke put it in one of his short stories.) I am not sure I believe the account, but it makes for a good story.

Actually, Ian is what it says on my Birth Certificate and in my passport – so it is my official name – but according to Canon Law, (Church Law, that is), it’s not my name at all. When I was born my mother had Tuberculosis – it cost her a lung and my father once told me that they “pulled the curtains”, (meaning that they thought that she was about to die), not just once but twice during this period. Anyway, when I finally made my appearance, they were so concerned that I might not survive that the doctor christened me then and there. Apparently he named me Royston and, as I said, according to Canon Law, once you are christened, then you have been given a name and that is your name. Full Stop! So, how come I am now Ian Claytor and not Royston Claytor. My mother explained it me like this: my older brother, Tony, had trouble saying my name – even in the short version, Roy. Apparently, he kept calling me “Boy”. “No son of mine is going to go through life being called “Boy”", she decided, and so when it came time to officially register the birth with the authorities, she changed it to Ian.

She thought she had solved the problem because no-one could shorten the name … but she was thwarted by Richard, my best friend at primary school, who would insist on calling me “Ee”. I think that, at times, she felt that she could have throttled him.

In answer to one of the questions that I am most often asked here, I have to report that I am single and have never been married and so, no, I am not divorced and no, I have no children – although I do have a number of cats. You can read more about them here.

As I said, I have an older brother, Tony, who is married to Christine and they have two teenage sons, Dominic and Lawrie and live in Hertfordshire.

For the first two and half years of my life when my mother was ill with TB, I had been passed from relative to relative eventually ending up in a children’s home in Stourbridge in North Worcestershire. One of earliest memories is of playing on the swings at the home. Another is of sitting in the backseat of the car my parents had borrowed when they came to fetch me and, looking out of the back window seeing a big bright “Midland Red” bus turn the corner behind us.

Malvern, where I grew and went to school, was a small town of about 30,000 but it was originally a number of villages, (Great Malvern, Malvern Link, North Malvern, West Malvern, Little Malvern, Malvern Wells and a number with names that don’t contain the name Malvern), which grew up around the Malvern Hills.

My father was a postman for all his life, except for the war years when he served as a tank driver, driving a Churchill tank in North Africa and up through Italy. He was also a Trade Union official, serving for many years as the local branch secretary of the Union of Post Office Workers), an example I was to follow later on in life. My mother was a housewife for most of her life, but did spend some time working a shorthand typist and secretary. She was very fond of handicrafts and I think she would have found the traditional crafts of the Kyrgyz very interesting and would have enjoyed making Shyrdaks, Ala Kiyiz, Kurak and Saima embroidery.

I wasn’t a particularly good student at school. In fact I still have my school report where one of my teachers commented: “Ian works well when he can’t avoid it” … and I still wonder why he couldn’t have stuck with the traditionally tried and tested: “Could do better”, but it was at least original and showed that I wasn’t just “one of the crowd”. My schooldays, of course, did much to shape my future career, but there’s more about that here. Anyway, I must have done reasonably well because I ended up with three A-Levels and a place at Teacher Training college and the backdoor into Oxford University and an Oxford degree, and there’s more about that here.

Oxford was an adventure. Up until then I hadn’t traveled much and my horizons were very much limited to Malvern where I had grown up. I had been to the seaside at Weston-Super-Mare, (or Weston-Super-Mud as we called it because when the tide went out, the sea retreated so far that there seemed to be nothing but miles and miles of wet sand), and to Cornwall with the family of my best friend … they later moved there and he still lives there and now runs a number of hotels in the area – so we’re colleagues. Oxford, however, was different … it wasn’t a holiday, just a week or two … I was on my own, and I made the most of it.

I made some good friends in college, and we kept in touch for a while after we finished our course. When it came time for everyone to leave and go make their own way in the world, one of my friends, took my address but said: “I don’t promise to keep in touch … maybe I will, but think how many friends you had at school that you’ve lost touch with – and that was only three or four years ago … people move on, and I don’t like making promises I don’t know if I can keep.” It’s sad, but she was right – and I have always remembered that … especially the bit promises – after all, an Englishman’s word is supposed to be his bond!

After college it was a question of finding a job … and I got thrown in at the deep end. I became the Teacher in Charge of Religious Education in a large school in Thame in rural Oxfordshire. OK … “teacher in charge” … the only teacher of Religious Education, as it happened. Being the only one, however, I couldn’t take every class and there were a couple of people to help me … but basically I was left on my own devices.

It was in Thame that I started to follow my father’s footsteps and joined a union. It wasn’t exactly what you would think of as a Trade Union … or at least what I thought of at that time as a Trade Union. Teaching isn’t exactly a “blue collar”, working class, profession, and the union that I chose was not militant by any means. Some people referred to us conservative, or even “right wing”, but that wasn’t really true. We preferred to call ourselves the “moderate” teachers’ union. Normally, I “don’t do things by halves” and guided by the principles that although “membership has its privileges” it also has its responsibilities, so I found myself taking an active role in Association affairs. After the move to London, this grew year by year and before I know it I was branch secretary, and in the course of the next seventeen years I also took on the roles (at different times) of Branch Treasurer and Chairman as well as a conference delegate and Branch representative, negotiating with employers, local authorities and, on one occasion, a Minister of the Crown. As it happens, this experience taught me an awful lot and helped me a great deal when I came to Kyrgyzstan and I found myself attending meetings (and sometimes arguing) with government officials, Ministers and even Prime Ministers and Presidents and two British princes of the realm. (Yes, two … strange isn’t it, I traveled half way around the world to meet two members of my own Royal Family!)

The Headteacher in Thame had a basic rule of thumb … the first year a teacher worked in the school, especially if they were a probationary teacher like me, (that is they were newly qualified and new to teaching), then they were basically “taking” from the school – gaining experience and additional “on the job training”. Everything is a new experience. During the Second year its a case of “fifty-fifty” … they are still learning, but they are also putting into practice that they learned in the first year. By the time they get to the third year, they are “giving back” to the school. Now, it seemed to me, (and still does), that that’s a bit crude, but there is a lot of truth in it and it makes a lot sense in a school situation where there is a clear annual cycle. Anyway, I did my three years and and then started looking around for the next step in my career.

I applied for a job in London … returning to my “first love”, Mathematics. In fact, I didn’t get it … at the interview we were told that someone else had been appointed, but “it was a close decision and thanks for applying”. So, I got quite a surprise a few days later when I got a phone call saying that the successful applicant had to withdraw and asking if I was still interested in the job. Yes, I was, and so I made another of the big decisions in my life and moved to London.

Having been, nominally at least, my own boss as “Teacher in charge of Religious Education”, I now joined the rank and file as ordinary classroom teacher. I had fewer groups to get to know and was teaching a subject which, even if it wasn’t popular with everyone, was thought to be useful and not just a “necessary chore”, a statutory obligation. I got on well with the classes – although, yes, there were “ups and downs”. I was there for seventeen years. That’s a long time, but although it was seventeen years in one school, I actually had several different jobs during that time. After a few years as a classroom Maths teacher, I took on classes in Statistics and then Computing, IT and vocational courses as well as taking on various administrative roles within the school. There’s more about that here.

I also took on a role as an examiner, (in both Maths and Computing). My first experience of working in the examination system was as a student when I got a holiday job as a “checker” for one of the exam boards. It surprised me how many so-called “intelligent” people couldn’t add up the marks they had awarded a candidate – and as a result this was something I paid great attention to when I eventually became an examiner. Later as a with the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE), which was the equivalent of a school leaving certificate, and the system involved using class teachers as markers and examiners. When my career moved into computing I applied for several jobs as a assistant examiner in Computing, (without any expectation of success – hey, my degree was in Theology, not computing or any other related subject), and to my surprise and amazement I was accepted – for all of them! Every year, from May until August, I spent many long hours marking scripts and coursework projects, and attending meetings. It was a hard job, carrying great responsibility but it was a great experience which helped me immensely in many different ways. I would strongly recommend it to any teacher as being both rewarding and worthwhile. (There’s more about my experiences here.)

As I said before, I didn’t travel very much when I was young. Now, during those seventeen years I really got the travel bug. I traveled to various places around Britain, visited France two or three times every year and also lots of other places in Europe, (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Yugoslavia, …). I went to the States four times, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Pakistan, Thailand, China (Hong Kong) and several of the Caribbean islands. I even visited Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan … but little did I know at the time that I would end up living here! I regret that I never made it to Africa or South America (… ever since I studied South America as part A-Level Geography, I have wanted to go to Brazil – especially the Amazon). I always enjoyed visiting new places, seeing the sights and being able to point to something and say to myself, “I remember learning about that in Geography, or History, or … whatever, and now I am seeing it in real life”; meeting new people; trying new food; learning about different cultures. One thing I didn’t really like was sitting on a beach, sunbathing. I was prepared to do it occasionally if my friends on holiday wanted to do so, provided we split the holiday and did some “”exploring” as well. I felt that it was wasting too much valuable time. As the Beatles put it: “Life is very short and there’s no time for …”, well they said (sang) “fussing and fighting, my friend”, but as far as I was concerned it should have been “sitting around idle”. I suppose it was the “Protestant work ethic” which had been instilled in me by this time.

In fact, I like being busy and I kept (keep) myself busy in many ways. I also have an obsessive personality and tend “not to do things by halves”

As well as teaching, examining and my work with the union, another way was my involvement in Rugby. Although I have tried my hand at many sports I have never been a great sportsman. In my schooldays, however, I played Rugby for the school team and the local club. I was never very good at it … I joke that my position was seventeenth man (for those that don’t know – a rugby team consists of fifteen players!). Even when I stopped playing as the result of an injury, I continued to coach one of the school teams and to referee some matches … although I can’t say that I really enjoyed either.

Another thing I undertook was “in-service” training. I am a great believer that education is a lifelong activity. We are always meeting new experiences, and the world is constantly changing with new facts being discovered and new technologies being developed and so we need to prepare ourselves for the challenges of tomorrow … and not rely on what we learned in the dim and distant past. When I went on my first “First Aid” course, for example, we were taught that the way to deal with a nose bleed was to pinch the bridge of the nose and put the patients head back with the nose in the air, but a couple of years later at the refresher course we were told to pinch the bridge of the nose and bend the patient forward with the nose down. As it was explained to us, if the head is back then there is a chance for the blood to flow through the nasal cavity into the mouth and then into the throat … causing all sorts of complications. It wasn’t, however, just a case of keeping up-to-date. I’m a bit like a sponge in learning new things. I loved playing Trivial Pursuits! I once included an obscure fact in a history essay at school and the teacher circled it in red and added a comment “Where did this come from?” I took great pleasure in telling him it was a book that he had told us we all ought to buy. I had done so, and showed him the reference. There was nothing he could say in reply apart from: “You remember the strangest things!” As a result I also took a number of courses which had nothing to do with work and my favourite was “Looking at Paintings” from the Open University. I don’t know if they still offer it … but it was very enlightening in many different respects. Attending courses is something I miss here … but the internet is a great tool and I feel very fortunate in being able to research almost any topic.

The next big decision in my life involved the move to Kyrgyzstan. In fact it wasn’t one decision, it was a series of at least three during the course of just over a year: to come here; to stay and what to do once I had decided to stay.

Tony, a friend whom I had known since my days in Oxford, worked as a lawyer for a large international firm based in London. His first visit to Kyrgyzstan was in the early 1990′s as part of his work – and he fell in love with the country and the people. On his suggestion I came here on holiday in 1994 and although I liked the place I never really thought that much more about it until he told me that he had landed a job here, wanted to open his law firm and needed help to set up the office. Would I come and help him? Yes, OK. I originally came for one year, but things never quite go according to plan and as the year was coming to an end there was still lots to do, so I stayed on to finish the job. I could have gone back home. I had a job waiting for me and staying here meant saying goodbye to that and a career that I had been developing for twenty years. To be honest, however, I was ready for a change and I looked forward to meeting the challenges of starting something new.

Once I decided to stay, and the office was up and running it was a case of “what do I do now?”. We looked at several options and eventually decided that the most perspicacious was Tourism … and so, together with another friend from the UK, we started the Celestial Mountains Tour Company, and two hotels. We would have liked to open more, but, (as I keep saying), things don’t always go according to plan.

As before, I keep myself busy. There’s never a dull moment. If ever I seem to stop and be idle, it’s not because I have nothing to do … it’s because I have so much to do that I don’t know where to start. I am involved in a number of projects here in Kyrgyzstan. I am an active member of the International Business Council (IBC) and the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators (KATO) – in fact I am the president of the Association, which always raises an eyebrow – an Englishman as the President of a Kyrgyz Association … but then some people say (jokingly) that, after fourteen years here, I am almost half Kyrgyz anyway. (I have actually taken out official “Residence” status but, no, I am not looking to take out Kyrgyz citizenship – to do that I would have to give up my British passport, and I am not keen to do that.) Some people even say I am more enthusiastic about all things Kyrgyz than most of the locals. I have even been thanked by locals for telling them things about Kyrgyzstan that they didn’t know … or for showing them a part of Kyrgyzstan that they haven’t seen before.

So, that’s my story … or, at least, part of my story. There’s obviously a lot of details missing but it should help to give you a feel of who I am, where I am coming from and why I say some of the things I do in these postcards.

Thanks for reading this far …