DUSHANBE, August 5, 2010, Asia-Plus — Claims by the administration of the Institute of Innovative Technology and Communication (IITC) are absolutely baseless, the head of the State Service for Education Supervision, Khurshed Ziyoev, told Asia-Plus Wednesday afternoon, commenting on lawsuits filed by IITC Chancellor Sadriddin Akramov against him and Education Minister Abdujabbor Rahmonov.
According to him, the institute does not have the moral right to accuse them. “They ought to seek those to blame in the institute itself,” Ziyoev said, noting that both the Ministry of Education and the Service for Education Supervision acted within the framework of the country’s legislation.
“By government’s order of August 2009 acceptance of students to IITC for 2009-2010 academic year was banned since the Institute did not coordinated the acceptance plan with the Ministry of Education,” said the education official, “Besides, many shortcomings were revealed in the institute’s activities and following ruling by the Service for Education Supervision, the institute’s activities were suspended and in accordance with the country’s legislation, the institute was given three months to remove existing shortcomings. On the expiry of this period, we were supposed to check up whether those shortcomings were removed or not, but the institute administration did not give consent to the inspection contrary to the country’s legislation.”
Ziyoyev stressed that the working group had repeatedly called on the institution administration to arrange inspection but they refused.
“Therefore, the Ministry of Education applied to Dushanbe Economic Court asking to revoke IITC’s license,” said Ziyoyev, “Dushanbe Economic Court on January 21, 2010 ruled that the license of the IITC be revoked. On March 29, 2010, the IITC appealed against the ruling handed down Dushanbe Economic Court but the appeals court of Dushanbe Economic Court on March 31 upheld the latter’s verdict against the IITC.” “However, the institute refused to return the license despite the court’s decision, and therefore, we were forced to apply to the prosecutor’s office in Dushanbe’s Sino district and the Prosecutor-General’s Office.”
We will recall that the IITC Chancellor Sadriddin Akramov on July 31 this year filed a lawsuit against Education Minister Abdujabbor Rahmonov in Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district, accusing the education minister of defamation and insulting. Akramov also filed lawsuit against Khurshed Ziyoev, accusing him of office abuse, negligence, service forgery, and arbitrary rule.
Founded in 2003 as International University of Tajikistan, it was renamed University of Humanities in 2006 and eventually Tajik Institute of Innovation Technology and Communication in 2008. The university has seven faculties: Information Systems and Technologies; World Economy; Management; International Relations; Foreign Languages; International Law; and Computer Science.
The IITC was set up by a Tajik-born U.S. citizen and reportedly receives funding from various U.S. and Western grants.
