Dawn Again

Every year Kazakhstan moves further away from the bloated education system it inherited following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its long-term aim? To boost the country’s human capital and foster sustainable economic growth.

According to an OECD report, the education sector is composed of preschool, primary, basic (lower) secondary, upper (general or vocational) secondary education, as well as post-secondary, and tertiary (graduate and postgraduate) education. One of Kazakhstan’s key challenges is its sheer size, with over half of all 7,500 public primary and secondary schools in the country classed as “ungraded.” Simply put, these institutions do not have enough students to fill classrooms, meaning pupils of different age groups often share a class. Many of these schools are located in sparsely populated rural areas, performing far worse than larger schools in urban areas. This reality has led to “lower-than-anticipated” results in international assessments, according to the OECD, and forms the causa facere behind the wealth of reforms currently being carried out. And in that respect, players across Kazakhstan’s education landscape really are on the same page.

Reforms aimed at boosting excellence across the field are grouped under the State Program of Education Development in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020, a document that was brought into being by Presidential decree in 2010. Managed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the reforms are widespread, including the transition to a 12-year education model and the attainment of a higher education better suited to the evolving job market.

PRESCHOOL, PRIMARY, & SECONDARY

The preschool sector is dominated by the public sector and provides education for children from 0 to six years old. Enrollment has skyrocketed in recent years, with 584,305 children enrolled over 7,221 establishments in 2012, up 151% on 2007. In terms of primary and secondary education, one of the State Program’s major goals was well on its way to full implementation by 2014; the adoption of a 12-year model. Thus, the country has now ditched its old 11-year model, unburdening young learners and allowing them more time to develop and hone the skills they’ll need for their future careers. The sector has a smattering of private institutions, although these make up just over a hundred of the approximate 7,500 schools across the country. The introduction of the 12-year system, it is hoped, will bring the country’s education system in line with international quality standards and allow for better global integration. While the effects of the transition will not become known for a few years, it is likely that the extra year will mean students are better prepared for higher education.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Following the transition to a free market economy in 1991, the higher education sector has experienced the most significant change. There were just 55 state institutions in 1990, but that had risen to over 180 private and public institutions by 2001. The rapid growth came at the expense of quality, however, and a series of reforms since increased technical requirements and paved the way to the introduction of PhDs. And due to the resultant quality controls, the number of higher education institutions dropped to 131 state, private, and special status universities in 2014, with more consolidation expected in the upcoming years, according to ICEF Monitor. In terms of students, there were 570,000 enrolled in Bachelor’s programs in the 2012/13 academic year, down from 634,000 in 2008/09. That said, the number of Master’s students increased to 25,299 from 11,395 and the number of PhD students grew almost four fold to 1,517. The implementation of reforms in line with the Bologna process has also been profound when it comes to internationalization, which has become a key priority for the Ministry. Approximately 43,039 Kazakhstani students studied in foreign countries in 2012, while almost 9,000 made the opposite trip. Many of Kazakhstan’s outbound students are members of the Bolashak scholarship program, which funds the brightest and best to continue their studies abroad on the condition that they return to work in Kazakhstan for at least five years.

When Kazakhstan set out to reform its education sector in 1991, it knew the journey would be a long one. Now, as it reaches half way in its 2011-2020 State Program, observers are beginning to get a glimpse of how the graduates of tomorrow will be able to feed the Central Asian country’s ever-diversifying economy. Making sure that the strict new standards are implemented across the board will be the challenge from this point on, while encouraging the most vibrant students to remain in the country after education will be the true acid test.