Achievements in Public Monitoring and Assessment of Education Reforms. Under this title, from June 27 to June 30, an international seminar was held in Bishkek at the “Park Hotel” organized by the Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic, the European Union, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and ED “BIOM” within the framework of the project “Supporting and Monitoring Education Reforms in Kyrgyzstan.” The project started in January 2015 in Kyrgyzstan and is aimed at ensuring transparency in the local education sector, specifically through public monitoring of reforms by a Public Council composed of experienced and authoritative individuals.
It is undeniable that quality education is the foundation for both individuals and society as a whole. A knowledgeable person is better equipped to reach their set goals, solve key life issues, and overcome challenges in their careers.
“Therefore, education issues are one of the priority strategic directions in the state policy of the Kyrgyz Republic,” said Azamat Dikambaev, advisor to the Ministry of Education and Science, “The state’s task is to create a social-oriented education system that enables students to acquire the knowledge and competencies necessary for self-fulfillment and fulfilling their responsibilities as citizens.”
To systematically address the main reforms in the education sector, several strategic documents have been developed. These include the Law on Education, the Education Development Concept, the Strategy for Education Development until 2020, the National Strategy for Sustainable Development for 2013-2017, and other documents. According to Vladimir Korotenko, head of ED “BIOM,” this strategy is the first one that emphasizes human development.
“The current educational landscape requires individuals to possess communicative skills, the ability to operate independently based on creative and innovative methods, and the general and specialized knowledge and skills that enable them to be successful in the job market and life,” said Vladimir Korotenko. Zulfia Kochorbaeva, director of the Social Technologies Agency, noted the need to respect several aspects regarding generational testing, gender equity, and cultural, ethnic, and political diversity.
Professor Emil Shukurov emphasized the importance of quality education for achieving sustainable development in the state. “The true value of education is fostering free, proud, fair, and creative consciousness. This involves setting quality goals for lifelong success, acquiring necessary knowledge, developing relevant skills, and seeking partners with ideas and resources to accomplish tasks,” said E. Shukurov.
Andrey Zybkin, an expert from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, stated that the main trends in the contemporary world are changing daily. These trends include globalization, the immediacy of communication tools, the absence of economic restrictions, access to education via the Internet, the commercialization of the educational process, and many other aspects.
“Given these new trends, schools cannot remain on the sidelines,” said Kristina Turzer, coordinator of the project “Supporting and Monitoring Education Reforms in Kyrgyzstan.” According to her assessment, schools should be resource centers for all community members year-round and must adapt to the changing dynamics of human life.
In short, there are currently challenges in the education sector. Larisa Marchenko, head of the monitoring and strategic planning department of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, stated that these challenges are based on the education reforms in our country and indicated that, as of now, the legal framework for the education sector across Kyrgyzstan is at a sufficient level. She mentioned that the mechanisms for changing and amending laws in the education sector in Kyrgyzstan have also improved. The latest amendments pertain to May 2015, during which a package of amendments to the Law on Education was prepared, clarifying key terms such as “master,” “bachelor,” “inclusion,” and “education for sustainable development.” These amendments aim to provide a general concept for understanding processes in the education system, while the specific amendments allow for clearer definitions of various processes (conducting accreditation, norms for students in pedagogical specialties, etc.).
The first action of the education development strategy for 2012-2014 was successfully implemented. For example, in recent years, the number of kindergartens has approximately doubled (including the opening of alternative forms) and the number of children reached 132,000. More than 5,000 classes have been opened for preschool preparation, and a 480-hour pre-preparation program has been developed. Currently, the 240-hour preparation program has achieved 100% coverage of children not prepared for school.
L. Marchenko also mentioned many achievements in other levels of education: for instance, the increase in the collection of primary education for grades 1-9, the introduction of two-tier education (bachelor’s and master’s) at universities, and the growing interest in higher education.
On the other hand, L. Marchenko noted that the task of developing new generation standards within the Strategy has not been fully accomplished. Meanwhile, the quality of education is dependent on the complete implementation of standards. There is also an issue related to many teachers understanding the purpose of education as “knowledge in education.” At the same time, children need to actively apply the knowledge they acquire in life, in practice, shortly afterward. Therefore, discussions are focused on the formation of knowledge, professional activities, and value relationships in the education system.
Chinara Kurbanova, a specialist from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, pointed out that our education does not meet the quality expected by society due to the lack of provision of textbooks and methodological resources for teachers. She spoke about the experience in providing textbooks in Poland, where modern textbooks support quality education in kindergartens. She emphasized that school directors in Kyrgyzstan need new methodologies and practices that demand improving our education quality, particularly in physics, mathematics, and English language textbooks and methodological materials in the Kyrgyz education system.
“Curricula are being updated, but the Ministry of Education is cautious in developing textbooks. It is a fact that the Ministry has established a monopoly over the development of all textbooks and methodological materials,” said Zamir Derbishev, a member of the Public Expert Council for Education Development under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. “To acquire quality textbooks, methodological materials, and organizational programs, 27% of school students lack necessary literature and equipment, and many are unable to study certain subjects due to a shortage of teachers or low teacher qualifications.”
Zamir Derbishev also presented the results of a working group on anti-corruption in the field of regulatory legal documents in education, established in March 2021. The working group identified that only 13.4% of children are fully prepared for school, while 80% of first-grade students not prepared for school are poor at learning the school curriculum. There are still difficulties in learning the curriculum in the current education system. Shortcomings have also been observed in vocational education institutions that do not meet requirements. However, over the last ten years, the number of applicants for vocational education has decreased from 10.8% to 7.1%. Nevertheless, every citizen in Kyrgyzstan is regarded as a student of higher education institutions, but the quality and prestige of obtaining higher education are declining.
Svetlana Simbard, rector of BFEA, informed about the reforms in the education system. She noted that the terminology is currently changing in line with the essence of the reform. For instance, a department is now referred to as a faculty, but fundamentally nothing has changed. In 2012, the official path to transition to a two-tier higher education system was established, yet it is still unclear what attributes a bachelor or master should possess today. The state subjective development and standards have not been adapted to global standards. As a result, educational programs do not meet the state education standards accepted in Europe and the USA. Furthermore, there is still an insufficient unified national structure to create these requirements,” said Svetlana Simbard. She also stated that developing standards does not require government funding, and it is impossible to approve standards through the government of the Kyrgyz Republic, as this is a highly labor-intensive process, and a postponement of the standards’ deadlines is necessary.
“All state standards must be compared to the national qualification structure, but we do not have such a structure,” said S. Simbard.
Almaz Tajibai, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, outlined the important directions of the Council’s work: supporting the education strategy, standardizing state educational services, analyzing changes in legislation in the education and budget sectors, ensuring citizens’ access to complete information, discussions on current issues by the ministry, provision of school textbooks and their content, transparency in tenders, readiness of schools for the full educational process, availability of a unified school uniform, the quality of children’s nutrition, etc.
According to Almaz Tajibai, it can be said that currently, the work of the members of the Supervisory Board is insufficient, yet they actively participate in discussing various issues and providing their proposals. In their view, the absence of a Supervisory Board constitutes a need to create a website dedicated to education.
At the seminar, Birgit Wetzel, an expert from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, shared her experience regarding education reforms in Germany and other developed countries.
Irina Bayramukova
