Applying a rural development lens to migration policy in Kyrgyzstan

Development trends in Kyrgyzstan include declining agricultural production, a steady increase in remittances to rural areas from labor migration and an increasing role for the non-agricultural sector in the rural economy. These trends suggest that labor migration is having a transformative effect, with significant opportunities for rural development, but also challenges ahead. Even though migration has a huge impact on the country’s economy (remittances account for some 30% of the country’s GDP), to date migration governance focuses mainly on the rights protection of migrants and does nothing about sending communities and rural development policy. The attractiveness of rural villages for return migration and the well-being of those left-behind should be a major focus for migration policy along with the inclusion of migration as cross-cutting issue in rural development policy at all levels

Mainstreaming the needs of migrant children and sending communities into the rural schools development agenda in Kyrgyzstan

Many studies indicate that labor migration is the main economic survival strategy for all population groups in Kyrgyzstan, but especially young people. Migration affects rural schools in several ways. Young people are not interested in fully completing their secondary education, and after the 9th grade, many drop out of school and start looking for jobs. This problem is compounded by the shortage of school teachers in the country. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, teaching vacancies in subjects such as computer science, English, biology, chemistry, mathematics and physical education have not been filled for years in many schools. Recent university graduates are not interested in filling these vacancies as labor migration offers a more favorable way of entering the labor market. This migration of the working age population can, however, have a negative impact on left-behind children, worsening their academic performance. National Assessment of the Educational Achievements for grad school students (NOODU) data show that students’ performance at schools differs markedly between children whose parents are labour migrants outside of the country and their peers whose parents remain with them. The former often have the worst performances in schools. This is mostly because left behind children, mostly teens, have to fill the labour shortage in the household. The multidimensional impacts of labor mobility are therefore closely intertwined and reflected in problems felt within the school system (lack of teachers and poor academic performance of migrant children). This can cause long-term negative impacts on education. However, despite the scale of labor migration, very little has been done to understand how rural schools cope with these challenges. This policy brief aims to raise stakeholder awareness of the impact of labor migration on the institution of secondary education in rural communities with active migration outflows, and offers key recommendations for further actions and interventions

Examining migration governance: evidence of rising insecurities due to COVID-19 in China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the context of global migration. From a migration perspective, the pandemic is a source of insecurities that challenge migrants, their livelihoods and migration governance. Meanwhile, curtailment in movement has led to economic decline affecting labour markets. For migrant origin and hosting countries, this poses multidimensional development challenges. Analysis from March to August 2020 of China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand highlights the varying ways in which they are all severely affected by the disruptions in migration, suggesting a potentially emerging complex situation in migration patterns and pathways. The disruptions in migration and remittances have had a profound impact on migrants and migrant-sending households. The uncertainty of migration returning to pre-pandemic levels and the potential of lasting consequences on migrants and migration patterns and pathways, suggests a future of greater risk and exploitation, and a wider gap between formal and informal migration. This paper calls for greater mobility cooperation between countries and suggests strengthening mobility migration frameworks and policies for safer migration and for the rights of migrants

Migration governance and agrarian and rural development: comparative lessons from China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand

The purpose of this policy brief is to draw together key comparative lessons on different types of migration governance interventions in the AGRUMIG project research regions and examine how they support positive feedback loops between migration and agrarian and rural development. This exploration offers stories of success and omission. Moving beyond the elusive triple-win situation on the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries, migrants themselves and the highly politicized domain of the migration-development nexus, our point of departure is that there are vital prospects for augmenting the positive impacts of migration for societies globally. This brief focuses on how migration governance interventions are potentially useful in maximizing the gains between migration and agrarian development in the sending communities in China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand