On Monday February 28, Jamshed Jourazoda, the Frist Deputy Minister of education and Science of Tajikistan, met here with Ms. Hoda Jaberli (as pronounced), representative of the UNISECO Section of Migration, Displacement, Emergencies and Education, Ehson Khoushvakht, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus in an interview.  

According to him, Mr. Jourazoda appreciated UNSECO’s support for implementation of education development programs and projects in Tajikistan.  

During the meeting, the parties also discussed the issue of enrollment of Afghan refugees’ children in education in Tajikistan.  

It was noted that despite the existing difficulties, the Ministry Education and Science has taken measures to enroll Afghan nationals in education at all levels.  

For her part, Ms. Jaberli reportedly expressed satisfaction with the results of work carried out by the Ministry of Education and Science and noted that in case of necessity, UNESCO is ready to provide technical assistance.  

Tajikistan currently hosts the largest number of refugees in Central Asia, originating primarily from neighboring Afghanistan.

According to data from UNHCR Tajikistan, 6,500 refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan were registered in Tajikistan as of the end 2020.  Over the first eight months of 2021, until the suspension of international flights to Afghanistan, the number of refugees reportedly doubled and amounted to about 14,000 people.