DUSHANBE, November 16, 2015, Asia-Plus — The University of Central Asia’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (UCA SPCE) celebrated its 10th graduation in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) on November 14.
The ceremony was attended by Mrs. Guldastamo Orumbekova, Deputy Governor of GBAO; Leslie Hayden, US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires; Ghulom Hoshim, Afghan Consul in Khorog; Dr Karl-Heinz Frank, GIZ Country Director; and Dr Bohdan Krawchenko, Director General of UCA.
“The Government of GBAO values the work of UCA SPCE in strengthening professional skills and socio-economic development in the region. UCA programs, in cooperation with the local government, have yielded good results. We look forward to continuing our partnership and leveraging the great potential of this university,” said Orumbekova.
According to UCA SPCE, the University recognized over 200 graduates at the ceremony. Graduates of UCA SPCE’s information technology program received the internationally-recognized International Computer Driving License certificate. Professional certificates were awarded for Accounting Technology and Technical Vocational Education. Cashier/Bookkeeping, Business Plan Development, English for Academic Purposes and Conversational English short-term graduates received Certificates of Achievement. Graduates of Conversational Russian, German and Chinese received Records of Achievements. Afghan learners from the border districts of Badakhshan province, who completed UCA SPCE’s Assistant Plumbing short-term program, supported by the International Organization for Migration, received Certificates of Achievements during the ceremony.
UCA SPCE also recognized the achievements of 10 instructors who received a Master’s in Management from Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University (KRSU), based on a partnership between KRSU and UCA under the Small and Medium Enterprise Growth Project for Central Asia, an initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). These newly qualified instructors make up the flagship faculty of the School’s new Small and Medium Business Program, currently being delivered under the Economic and Social Connections: A Multi-Input Area Development Financing Facility for Tajikistan, an alliance between USAID and AKF.
UCA SPCE was established in 2006 in Khorog and its Learning Centre in Dushanbe opened in 2008. To date, SPCE has enrolled over 27,000 learners in Khorog and 16,000 learners in Dushanbe. Through partnerships with AKF and government agencies, UCA SPCE delivers courses in Afghanistan through three Satellite Learning Centers in Shugnan, Darwaz and Ishkashim districts and a Continuing Education Unit at Badakhshan University in Faizabad city. The School also introduced its academic and quality assurance system at Learning Centers of Aga Khan Education Services in Ishkashim and Zeebak. In total, UCA SPCE has reached over 4,500 learners in six locations in Afghanistan.
