Onalbai Ayashev: Our most official person is the STUDENT

fragment of interview

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- You are well aware of the changes and innovations in all areas of our country. Is there harmony and prosperity in the education system in all corners of the country - from Astana to Zhetysai, or are there many contradictions?

- You are probably asking about Zhetysai for a reason. In 1998 I founded the Syrdarya University here. This year marks 15 years. There is a good reason for starting an educational institution. Initially, a small branch of the International Kazakh-Turkish University named after K.A. Yasavi in ​​Turkestan, which was opened in 1996. Two years later, the Turkish brothers said: “Our situation has deteriorated from afar. At first we made the wrong decision. We want to spend money only on the prosperity of our spiritual capital, Turkestan, ”they said, refusing to finance the Zhetysai branch.

Their decision shocked local residents and students. Cotton Island is a remote area with a population of 350,000.

Thank God there are seven or eight boys and girls in the house. Several years ago, when I was in Kyrgyzstan as a deputy, I saw that the average population of the Yersk region is only 20-25 thousand people. And we have three hundred and fifty thousand (and maybe more) population equal to the population of the entire Mangistau region. How can all children study together in such cities? Not only to study, but then to work in the region in the future. From Uzbekistan you go around Yallama, bypassing the Syrdariya River and passing 15 stations.

This is real suffering. If you leave in the morning, you will only get to one point. Continuous roadside checks are devastating. Many thanks to the President, in 2001, thanks to him, a bridge was built right across the district of G. Muratbayev and thereby established a direct road to Zhetysai.

The region borders on three regions of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. His main occupation is cotton growing. The soil is sandy and dry. It was home to turtles and snakes. People here thrive on such a desolate land. It is a hardworking country glorifying the South. Abundance. Hospitality. People with big hearts. The people of this region settled on the Darya River and earned their living. Real handymen who made paradise in the desert. The concept of the Syrdariya is very dear to them. General concept. Therefore, we named the University "Syrdariya".

In this regard, I remember one thing. Aitys, dedicated to Alpamys batyr, took place in Zhetysai. When I was talking with an Uzbek brother who brought our Kazakh compatriots to Uzbekistan to Aitys and worked as an editor of a local newspaper, he asked me the following question: “Why did you name the University of Syrdariya? What does this have to do with you, because we have the Syrdariya region? "

“First of all,” I said, “take a good look at history. Syrdariya, Zhizak, Karakalpakstan were the birthplace of our ancestors. Therefore, our ancestor Tole bi lies in the center of Tashkent. When will our brothers from the younger zhuz go to Nurata and build a large mausoleum named after Aiteke bi there? In the past, the border was determined by the names of the people who lived in these holy places. The second problem is that the term “cheese” did not exist among the Uzbeks. This is a Kazakh word. Therefore, what do you have to do with the word Syrdariya?"

There are at least a million Kazakhs living in Uzbekistan, in fact, there are two and a half million of our compatriots there. In Soviet times, there were 667 purely Kazakh schools. The current government has gradually reduced them all to mixed schools and vocational schools. And our compatriots, who have settled there and do not want to return to our country, do not want to return with the suspicion that it will be difficult for them to live here, in Kazakhstan. In fact, the social situation there is a little worse, we cannot compare their situation with the Uzbeks living here. The people are struggling to make ends meet. Our only goal when creating the university was to invite our compatriots in Uzbekistan to study in their own country, in their native language. This initiative was supported by both the country and the heads of our states.

Therefore, I consider Syrdariya to be an educational institution focused on the needs and well-being of people. This is not a sympathetic statement that I made after opening the university. Everyone who came were satisfied and positive.

Today, 50 percent of student students come from neighboring countries. Students return to their villages for the weekend. We continue to improve the material base, technology, and the level of training of specialists. If necessary, it would be great if you could go and see for yourself.

Observe for several days, not one day. Talk to students. After all, "Syrdariya" University is like a place for the intelligentsia in Zhetysai. The White Horde of Enlightenment, adapting our brothers in Uzbekistan to the national language. This is really true. ...