The teaching staff of the Tajik Agrarian University named after Sh. Shotemur are undergoing a monitoring procedure as part of the completion of HECAFS Project, funded by the European Union’s ERASMUS+ Program.
Activities are monitored by the Office of the Erasmus+ Program Coordinator, Ms. Zarina Nuridinova.
The primary task of the university is professional training and output of personnel for the agro-industrial complex of the country that meet the modern requirements of the labor market. Emphasizing the relevance and timing of this Project, Umed Aslanov, Head of the Mission Hilfswerk International noted that “as part of the initiative of the President of the country – Honourable Emomali Rakhmon, the Government of Tajikistan has drafted the “300 Days of Reform program” and introduced to all institutional stakeholders the task of implementing standards of international agricultural practices (Global GAP) in food production. Thus, the Tajik higher educational institutions participating in the HECAFS Project, namely, the Khujand Polytechnic Institute, Tajik Technical University named after M. Osimi and the Tajik Agrarian University named after Sh. Shotemur became the leading educational institutions that took over the initiative and practical implementation of the Program.
During his presentation Zoirsho Nematulloev, Associate Professor, TAU has assessed the university’s activities and covered all key indicators and tasks set for the Project. The teaching staff was able to not only familiarize themselves with European teaching practices, but also introduce new training modules in Tajikistan, starting from the second year of the Project. There was also an opportunity for joint teaching with European colleagues for groups in the specialization “Agronomist-gardener-economist” and groups in the specialization “Technology of fruits and vegetables storage and processing”. Speaking about the practical side, he also noted that today several farms selected as pilot in the country have already introduced the Global GAP standard.
Answering the questions of the representative of Erasmus+ Program about the quality of the Project implementation, the university teachers noted that the quality assessment document has already been drafted by the Project partners and it reflects the areas of work after the completion of the Project activity. With respect to the training part, syllabuses for new disciplines were developed and introduced as a result of the Project implementation. Thus, separate programs included into the educational process and introduced new subjects in the specialization 490101 “Agronomist-gardener-economist” and 7402042501 “Technology of fruits and vegetables storage and processing”.
The university students use the purchased books and teaching materials during lectures, practical and laboratory classes for the new disciplines. Based on these materials, university lecturers develop courses, lectures and presentations in Tajik language for increased coverage of the practice. The Project allowed gathering a dialogue platform with the participation of business community, academia and institutional stakeholders. Thus, a well-established close cooperation with representatives of farms, industry business and the TajikStandart Agency contributes to the fulfillment of the tasks set by the Project and the Government of the country.
Dialog.TJ