Education in Kazakhstan
The educational system in Kazakhstan is conducted in two languages - Kazakh and Russian and consists of several levels of state and private educational establishments: infant schools, elementary (or primary) schools, comprehensive schools, colleges and academies. The constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan fixes the right of citizens of the republic on free-of-charge secondary education which is obligatory. The constitution prohibits any discrimination on the basis of language or ethnicity and guarantees equal rights in education regardless of nationality. Children start school at the age of 7 and finish at 17. As a rule a child attends the school, located in the neighborhood. However, in big cities there are so-called special schools, offering more in depth studies of the major European languages (English, French, German) or the advanced courses in physics and mathematics and children, attending one of this may have to commute from home.
The first stage of education in Kazakhstan is elementary (or primary) school for grades one through four. The second is secondary school for middle grades from five through nine. Upon graduation from secondary school students are given the choice of either continuing to attend the same school (high school -senior grades 10-11) or entering a vocational or technical school. Both of these schools are meant to provide one, along with the certificate of secondary education with a number of useful skills (e.g. those of an electrician, technical or computer operators.) Having completed one's secondary education, one can either become a part of work force or go on college (institution of higher learning-Institute).
To be admitted to the institute one has to pass a series of oral or written tests. Students may get free-of-charge higher education in the higher educational institution and the limited number of the state grants is given each academic year on a competitive basis. Some college departments (law, journalism, foreign language-especially English) have dozens of applicants for one prospective student's position. The system of higher education prepares highly - skilled experts on economy, transport, agriculture, medicine, languages and others. Today the young people of Kazakhstan have the opportunity to choose and acquire various types of education and build their lives according to their ambitions.
Studying of foreign languages and development of computer skills of pupils is of a special importance. More opportunities appear for the interested persons to be trained abroad on the basis of local and state grants, scholarships
Education in Kazakhstan , Kazakh universities , education in Kazakhstan , study in Kazakhstan , the education system KazahstanaPo character education programs education in Kazakhstan is divided into general and vocational education. The following levels of education: early childhood care and education , secondary education, higher and postgraduate professional education. Secondary education in Kazakhstan Secondary education in Kazakhstan is mandatory and includes general secondary, primary and secondary vocational education. In the first class the children are taken from 6-7 years. Secondary education in Kazakhstan has three stages: primary (grades 1-4) , the primary ( grades 5-9) and senior ( grades 10-11 ) . For the most complete development of the potential of gifted students developed educational programs that are implemented in special schools for gifted children. Initial vocational education in Kazakhstan, sold for 2-3 years in vocational schools and vocational high schools on the basis of general education. Secondary vocational education is provided for 3-4 years in colleges and schools on the basis of general education on a competitive basis. Higher education in Kazakhstan Higher education in Kazakhstan is acquired on the basis of secondary education. For admission to the university school graduates and pass final exams in the form of a single national testing ( UNT ) or complex testing ( for graduates of previous years) . Kazakh citizens have the right to be awarded on a competitive basis of an international "Bolashak" scholarship to study abroad . At the end of high school graduate receives a bachelor's degree ( 4 years), professional (5 years) or equivalent ( 6). The second higher education in Kazakhstan only receive a fee from the accelerated training period ( 2-3 years). Post-graduate education in Kazakhstan To purchase a postgraduate education in Kazakhstan requires specialist degree or master's degree . Training of scientists carried out a post-graduate assistantship , postgraduate and doctoral universities. Kazakh citizens have the right to be awarded on a competitive basis of an international "Bolashak" scholarship to study abroad . The term of study in graduate school and adjuncture not exceed 3-4 years , an assistantship - 2-3 years in doctoral - 3 years . According to the law "On Education" in Kazakhstan guaranteed free secondary and vocational education, as well as on a competitive basis by government grants free secondary vocational, higher and postgraduate education , if education is a citizen first . In addition, on a competitive basis provided the state education credit. Competition is based on the score of certificates issued by the results of UNT and comprehensive testing. Preferential right to grant the holders have the sign " Altyn Belgi " as well as winners and winners of international and national contests , competitions and Olympiads. Foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing in Kazakhstan have the right to education as citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan , international agreements , and contracts with educational organizations in Kazakhstan.
The Republic of Kazakhstan enjoys a 97 percent literacy rate, which is higher than in developing countries such as India, Peru, and Morocco. The system of education in the country consists of: preschool education, general secondary education, out-of-school training and education, family education, secondary vocational training, secondary technical education, higher education, post-higher education, and the development of professional competence and in-service training.
The mandatory general education for young people, ages 7 through 16, is provided by various institutions. Before independence, the biggest number of students attended 8,027 primary and secondary schools. In 2000, the number of schools and students slightly decreased due to the overall decrease in population. The primary school includes grades 1 through 4; the secondary stage consists of grades 5 through 9 and high school includes grades 10 and 11. It is a common practice that all three stages function under one administration and are located in the same building. Primary schools exist mainly in very remote rural areas with a low density of population.
At the end of the 1980s, an alternative type of general education institution received a revival—gymnasiums and lyceums. A small number of them functioned in the area even before 1917. The gymnasiums had a very rigorous classic curriculum that prepared students for higher education, while the lyceums emphasized math and science. However, after 1917, the Soviet government abolished both institutions and installed a unified system of school education that tried to blend both trends. The experiment lasted for several decades and proved that the unified secondary education did not meet the needs and interests of diverse student population, and for that reason it came under public criticism in the 1980s. In 2000, the system embraced 31 gymnasiums and 96 lyceums.
The network of general secondary education establishments also incorporates 244 secondary specialized schools which, in addition to the general education curriculum, offer the in-depth study of some subjects, foreign language being the most common one. In addition, there are 40 common type children's homes with a contingent of 5,006 children; 43 family type children's homes with 126 children; 22 boarding schools for orphaned children and children deprived of parental care; 48 seasonal boarding schools of common type attended by 15,647 children of migrant workers; 249 all-year round boarding schools with 8,250 children; 32 boarding schools for 4,853 mentally and physically handicapped children; and 1 boarding school for 93 children with severe behavioral problems. Along with the day-time general education schools, there are 62 night schools, 31 full-tuition by-correspondence schools, and 21 training centers for adults who received no certificate from a secondary high school.
Equal educational opportunities for boys and girls was a major goal of the Soviet Union, and remains as such in independent Kazakhstan. Historically, before 1917, education of girls was organized within families to teach girls to accept the traditional women's roles as wives, mothers, and cooks. In 1920 and 1921, only 1,900 ethnic Kazakh girls attended schools. In the years 1966 to 1976, this number rose to 424,759 and, in 1999, the number rose to more than 1 million. All schools are coeducational.
School education is offered in 21 languages. Out of the total number, 3,291 schools use Kazakh, 2,406 use Russian, 2,138 are bilingual and use both Russian and Kazakh; 77 Uzbek; 13 Uighur, 16 Tajik, Ukrainian, and German; 86 schools use other languages. As for higher education, 77,000 students are taught in Kazakh and 177,000 in Russian. Since science and engineering were started in Kazakhstan by Russian scholars. Russian language is used more in the politechnical, technological, and scientific schools of higher learning. In some majors, teaching is conducted in Uzbek, English, or German languages.
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Following independence from the Soviet Union a major economic depression cut "public financing" for education in Kazakhstan, "which dropped from 6% of gross domestic product in 1991 to about 3% in 1994, before rising to 4% in 1999." Elementary- and secondary-school teachers remain badly underpaid; in 1993 more than 30,000 teachers (or about one-seventh of the 1990 teaching staff) left education, many of them to seek more lucrative employment.
In 1994 Kazakhstan had 8,575 elementary and secondary schools (grades one through eleven) attended by approximately 3.2 million students, and 244 specialized secondary schools with about 222,000 students. In 1992 about 51 percent of eligible children were attending some 8,500 preschools in Kazakhstan. In 1994 some 272,100 students were enrolled in the republic's sixty-one institutes of higher learning. Fifty-four percent of the students were Kazakh, and 31 percent were Russian.Template:Citation needed
Kazakhstan's 1995 constitution provides mandatory, socialized secondary school education. Citizens compete for socialized institutions of higher learning. Private education is increasing in the country, with about 5% of students enrolled in the private schools that remain largely under arbitrary state control.
In 2000, the Government of Kazakhstan joined the governments of the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, and the Aga Khan to establish the world’s first internationally chartered institution of higher education, the University of Central Asia (UCA). The UCA will have three campuses of equal size and stature in each of the founding countries. The Kazakh campus is under construction in Tekeli in the Zhedysu region, 35 minutes east of the regional capital Taldykorgan, and three hours by car from Almaty. The UCA will benefit from the resources of the Aga Khan Development Network to offer an internationally recognized standard of higher education in Central Asia. Currently, the University operates a School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE), with a School of Undergraduate Studies and a Graduate School of Development in the process of being established.
In 2002 Asian Development Bank provided technical assistance to Kazakhstan to identify key issues and priorities in the education sector and to contribute to strengthening the government's education sector development strategy. <ref name=ADB>34460-012: Education Sector Development Strategy Asian Development Bank</ref> The United States provided 137 Peace Corps members to "work in education and NGO development" in 2004.<ref name=PEACECORPS>U.S. Assistance to Kazakhstan - Fiscal Year 2004 U.S. Department of State</ref>
Kazakhstan has a 99.1% literacy rate for males and 97.7% for females as of 1999.<ref name=LITERACY>Kazakhstan CIA World Factbook</ref>
When United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Kazakhstan from 12–13 October 2006, she said "The future of any state depends on its level of education. This is my fourth visit to Kazakhstan, I have already been to Atyrau and Almaty and I have been able to see for myself the high level of education of your nation, which is a key to success of any country."<ref name=STANDARDS>Official visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Kazakhstan Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of India</ref>
Contents
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1 Process of Education
1.1 Kindergarten
1.2 Primary school
1.3 Lower secondary school
1.4 Higher secondary school
1.5 Tertiary Institutions
2 Public Funding of Education
3 Projects and Programs
3.1 Bolashak
3.2 Transferring to a Credit System
4 Problems
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Process of Education Kindergarten
The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan protects the right to access to kindergarten <ref>Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Article 30</ref> Children typically start kindergarten at age 5. As of 2004, there were 100 kindergartens in the nation (83 public, 4 directly under the Ministry of Education, and 13 private) and 135 856 children enrolled in kindergartens (or 63% of the total number of 5-year and 6-year olds in the nation). All kindergartens are currently expected to teach both Kazakh and Russian, and most emphasize one language over the other.
One major problem has been the reduction of the number of kindergartens, due to the lack of state funding and virtually non-existence of private sources of money. There are also reported declines in the quality of kindergartens including a lack of hot meal or low quality food served, and buildings in poor repair.<ref name=" UNDP">http://www.undp.kz/library_of_publications/center_view.html?id=3983 2004 UN Human Development Report, “Education for All”</ref>
Primary school
Primary school in Kazakhstan starts at age 6 and runs from years 1 – 5. Classes typically run in two sessions, from 8 until 1 and from 1 until 5, with students either going to class in the morning or in the afternoon. All primary schools are state-owned and primary and secondary education are constitutionally protected rights.4 The curriculum includes x, y and z.
The curriculum for both primary and secondary school is established by the Ministry of Education, with little choice left up to the individual schools. Textbooks are given by government in the schools to the students.
Primary school is provided free to all citizens and residents of Kazakhstan and parents typically pay only for extra-curricular activities such as sports programs, music programs, and sometimes lab equipment or other special equipment.
Lower secondary school
Students continue in lower secondary school from grade 5 to year 9. This roughly corresponds to what is called in the USA, junior high school, or middle school. Typically a student in year 8 is 14–15 years old. The curriculum is a general education curriculum covering subjects like literature, student's first language, Russian or Kazakh language (depending on the language of the school in general), history, physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, foreign language, and so on.
Higher secondary school
Once leaving lower secondary school, there are three tracks available. Students are free to choose any track of higher secondary education but are required to pursue one track. Graduates of all three tracks are eligible to enter university.
The first track is a general secondary school which covers grades 10 -11 and provides general education covering a variety of subjects.
In addition, there are two curriculum tracks for vocational education: Initial vocational education which is provided by training schools and lycees, and secondary vocational education provided by colleges and trade schools.
Initial training schools are designed to train students in a skilled profession. The program is usually two or three years, (typically ages 16 – 18), but for some professional training four-year programs are required. Students who graduate can go on to Colleges for advanced vocational training or attend university. The state provides costs of education from the budget.
Lycees also provide basic vocational education to prepare students for skilled professions, but also includes general academic education. The course of study is three years. The state provides costs of education from the budget.
Colleges give a program that provides both academic general education and advanced vocational education. Colleges, if licensed, can also provide initial vocational education. Programs last for three or four years (grades 10 – 12, 13). Accelerated programs exist for students who have already completed both general secondary education and initial vocational training in the same field. Graduates may go on to university or may begin working. As of the 1999 Budget Law being passed, colleges are state-owned and self-financed. In principle however, all compulsory education (primary and secondary) is provided free of charge.
The curriculum for both primary and secondary school is established by the Ministry of Education, with little choice left up to the individual schools. Textbooks are sold in bookstores throughout the country and are purchased by the students themselves.
Like primary school, secondary school is subsidized by the government and parents only pay for extra-curricular activities such as sports programs, music programs, and sometimes lab equipment or other special equipment.