They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Such is the case with this image of Aina Jakypova, a math teacher from a Kyrgyz village, explaining percentage calculations on the front gate of her…

Lilia Burunciuc |

The Human Capital Project (HCP) is predicated on the conviction that cognitive capital is critical in a world where entrepreneurial and socioemotional skills are required for productive employment…

Fadia Saadah |

A young man sitting next to me on a recent flight from Almaty to Dushanbe told me, “I regret that I did not get a better education. I could have had a better job.” He is one of many Central Asian…

Lilia Burunciuc |

Millions of children around the world are prevented from reaching their full developmental potential because of poor environment and nutrition. In the more extreme cases, these children face…

Lilia Burunciuc |

Did you know that in Kazakhstan we live in the country with the deadliest roads? Every year,  3, 000 people die on roads in Kazakhstan, and over 30, 000 are injured. Imagine if an airplane crashed…

Aliya Karakulova |

Also available in: Русский Two years ago, I visited a village in Rudaki, a hilly district located to the south of Dushanbe, Tajikistan. It lies about forty kilometres from the capital, but it…

Emcet O. Tas |

Assessments make a lot of people nervous, and I’m not just talking about the students who have to take them. As a psychometrician (assessment expert) and World Bank staffer, I’ve worked on…

Marguerite Clarke |

A significant share of Tajikistan’s workforce works outside the country. Photo: Gennadiy Ratushenko / World Bank My colleague Victoria and I had an opportunity recently to meet with students at…

Mohamed Ihsan Ajwad, Victoria Strokova |

A significant share of Tajikistan’s workforce works outside the country. Photo: Gennadiy Ratushenko / World Bank My colleague Victoria and I had an opportunity recently to meet with students at…

Mohamed Ihsan Ajwad, Victoria Strokova |

Two recently released World Bank reports — one on commodities and the other on remittances — lend insight into an unfolding dynamic in the world today. As oil prices dropped from more than $100…

Donna Barne |