Dushanbe - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability of international schools? What has been your general experience with them, if any?
There are two schools that most Embassy children attend - QSI and Silk Road Academy. QSI is the Embassy-sponsored school, has relatively small classes (10-12 students per grade), and offers decent one-on-one attention to kids. The facilities are not huge or well-equipped, but they are adequate. The school goes from Pre-K to 12, but the high school is less well-attended. School at post has been found adequate up to Grade 6. We've had quite a few Embassy children in grades 7-8 in our time here, but very few high schoolers. They tend to utilize the away from post allowance. We have enjoyed our time at QSI and the kids have found the teachers and administration to be supportive and have a common-sense approach. The people who attend SRA seem happy with the programs offered there. I believe tuition is lower, and it functions as a bit of a co-op school with parents providing some instruction. There is also a religious aspect to the instruction. - Apr 2021
Two international schools, QSI and Contofield. QSI is richer and longer established, but costs a lot more. If the embassy or your employer is paying, go with QSI. Otherwise, Contofield is not that bad -- they just moved to a new campus not far from the US Embassy. Contofield stops at 6th grade. QSI goes all the way through high school in theory, but there are only a handful of kids in that age group. Check in advance. - Dec 2016
I do not have kids but the QSI school there is not good for high school and probably not good for middle school as well. It is okay for grade school. - Dec 2015
QSI was the only option at the time and the teachers that my two kids (ages 8 and 9) had were excellent. We still stay in touch with many of the teachers. - Mar 2014
I have no experience but my general understanding is that the new director at QSI is improving the general opinion people have toward the school. Generally, the older the children are at post, the less satisfied people are with the schools. - Oct 2013
QSI schools. Adequate schooling for younger grades, but in the upper grades they do most schooling online. If you have a choice I would not bring school age children to this post. - Jan 2012
There is a QSI that most expats use. It's really new and is primary years only, as far as I know. There is also the Dushanbe International School, which is mostly Tajik kids (including the President's son). Very few families with kids over 5 choose to come here. - Jun 2009
There are a few options, but no one is happy with them right now. My own kids are too young for these. The Quality Schools International (QSI) is available, but is very expensive and has had another change in directorship recently, hopefully for the better. Some people I know have used it, but are not happy with it, and a few are even homeschooling now. There is supposedly at least one other choice, but I don't know much about it. I would not come here with school aged children right now. - Jul 2008
