DUSHANBE, March 30, 2010, Asia-Plus — A court hearing over the fate of the Institute of Innovation Technologies and Communications (IITC), which is Tajikistan’s only private university, began in Dushanbe’s Economic Court on March 29.
The court is considering an appeal by the IITC against the injunction granted by judge of this court B. Rahimov on January 21 2010 originally sought by the Ministry of Education of Tajikistan. Following an application by the Ministry of Education, the injunction had ordered that the IITC should be closed because it allegedly does not comply with the country’s law on education.
Speaking at the court hearing, the IITC vice-president Muhammadali Nourali noted yesterday that the ruling handed down by Dushanbe Economic Court on January 21 2010 is baseless. According to him, the judge violated articles of the country’s civil procedure code.
Mr. Nourali accused the Ministry of Education of corruption and noted that a number of decisions made by the ministry over IITC’s activity were contrary to the country’s education legislation.
In the meantime, the first Deputy Education Minister, Farhod Rahimov told Asia-Plus yesterday afternoon that all accusations advanced by the plaintiff against the ministry are unfounded and slanderous. “We are ready to prove that rulings handed down by the Economic Court and the appeals court of the Supreme Court of Tajikistan are well-grounded,” the deputy minister said, noting that IITC’s activity was now contrary to the country’s law on education.
He added that seven higher education institutions and their branches have been closed in the country since 2006.
The IITC was set up by a Tajik-born U.S. citizen and receives funding from various U.S. and Western grants. Initially, it was registered in 2003 as the University of International Relations. Three years later, it was ordered to change its name and became the Humanitarian University. In 2007, it got yet another new name: the Institute of Innovation Technologies and Communications.
The IITC now have some 2,000 students. In 2009, 543 students entered this university and annual tuition fee set by the IITC is US$ 500.
In July 2009, the country”s education authorities ordered the closure of the IITC. The education ministry said it needs at least three months to check the IITC”s documents and activities and demanded that the university remain closed until that process is complete. However, the IITC has not hated its operations
