Turkmenistan: Schoolchildren are forced to hand over money for portraits of the new President

The Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan has issued an order to all school and preschool institutions to replace the portraits of the President.

Now, portraits of Serdar Berdymukhamedov will be installed on the stands in the foyer and classrooms. The minimum cost of an ordinary portrait in a classroom is 500 manats [$142.4]. A carpet with a woven portrait of Serdar Berdymukhamedov should hang in the lobby at the entrance to the institution, the minimum cost of such a portrait is 5,000 manats [$1,424.5].

The administrations of universities, schools and kindergartens have already told parents about the upcoming expenses and immediately warned that serious administrative measures would be taken against parents who refused to pay. The portraits of the previous President were removed in mid-March.

Also, the administrations of educational institutions are forcing parents to buy a cloth for dresses for the next academic year already now. One piece (2.5 meters long) costs 120 manats in schools in Balkan region. The fabric is sold by teachers in schools. You can’t buy fabric in the market and in stores, otherwise there will be big problems. The administrations of educational institutions negotiate with wholesalers and buy material at a big discount. So wholesalers have the same cloth for 70-80 manats, and the difference in price settles in the pockets of staff of administrations of educational institutions.

In most schools, by the end of the academic year, parents of schoolchildren will need to hand over money for repairs and new curtains. With the coming to power of Serdar Berdymukhamedov, everything remained the same.