Ekaterina Chshyogoleva
University of the People
Dr. Angela Andrews
02 03, 2022
A developing democratic State aims to create conditions for the free development and prosperity of citizens. The transformation taking place in the Republic of Kazakhstan has a twofold goal: to raise the quality of life of the population and to create a more humane and democratic society.
The search in the education system has acquired a particularly clear orientation after the proclamation of state sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan to become part of the general flow of Kazakh reforms, which continue to this day.
The development of the education system can be divided into several periods, each of which is characterized by its own characteristics.
For the first period (1991-1994), after the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the formation of a legislative framework corresponding to the changed conditions became an urgent task. Therefore, the main issues were:
Granting State grants for education to citizens;
creating a legal basis for implementing new approaches to economic support of the sphere through the rational use of budget funds;
attracting extrabudgetary funds and regulating property rights.
The main legislative act regulating educational activities was the Education Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1992).
The difficulties of economic and social transformation have made it especially relevant to revise conceptual and programmatic approaches to the education system, to specify ways and directions of transformation on the basis of the adopted legislative framework.
During this period, 18 concepts were approved, including the concept of State policy in the field of education, the National Program for the Preparation of State Support for Education, the Targeted Program for the Preparation and Publication of Textbooks and Teaching Complexes for General Education Schools.
The main priorities for educational reform were identified:
Improving the financing of education, i.e. increasing their financial and economic autonomy, using additional sources of financing;
Equitable development of the education system in the region, taking into account both local and republican interests;
Establishment of an effective education management system at the national and regional levels;
improvement and updating of educational processes - strengthening the practical importance of acquired knowledge and skills;
ensuring integration into the international educational space, bringing the national level of education closer to international standards;
Establishing an effective legal framework for the education system.
These priority areas of reform contributed to maintaining the affordable level of education in Kazakhstan, and in the future made it possible for our standards to gradually approach the international level.
At the same time, negative trends occurred in the education system during the designated period, which was the result of the socio-economic problems faced by the State. The transition from the command and administrative system to regulatory functions in the market was complicated by the lack of financial capabilities of the republican and local budgets. The optimization policy led almost to the destruction of the preschool education system, to the mass liquidation of preschool institutions. Secondary schools, especially rural ones, were in a critical situation, many of which, including small ones, closed. The beginning of the outflow of teachers to the field of business and entrepreneurship negatively affected the level and quality of secondary general education.
Under conditions of residual financing, the system of vocational education and training was deformed. Professional schools were on the verge of liquidation, the lack of investment also affected secondary vocational education. In fact, the reproduction of skilled workers and middle-level specialists has ceased.
However, since the second period (1995-1999), there have been positive developments in the Kazakh education system due to the development of democratization processes and economic transformations. These transformations found their legal form in the Law "On Education" of 07.06.1999.
One of the main tasks assigned to the education system was the requirement to provide personnel to all sectors of the country's economy. In this regard, a new model for the formation of a student contingent of State institutions in the Republic of Kazakhstan (1999) was developed and approved by a Government decision, which was designed to increase the objectivity of assessing the knowledge of applicants, to select the most gifted youth among those entering State universities by State order ( Nikitina L.E. 2001). This model was the first stage in improving the mechanism of admission rules to universities in the country.
Third phase (1999-2000) - Decentralization of management and financing of education, expansion of academic freedoms of educational organizations. An important stage in the reform of the education system was the fourth period (2001-2010). The State Programme for the Development of Education in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2005-2010 has been developed [2]. On the basis of this document, two state medium-term programs for the development of education were compiled, the first of which was approved in 2000 (for the period 2000-2005), the second in 2004 (for the period 2005-2010). The state program for the development of education in Kazakhstan until 2010 was developed on the basis of the Concept for the development of the education system of Kazakhstan until 2015.
In the State programme for the development of education in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2005-2010, the priorities of the educational policy were aimed at finding optimal ways to adapt the higher education system to the conditions of a market economy. The program was implemented in two stages: the first stage - 2005-2007, the second stage - 2008-2010. The program provides for the following main areas of development: transition to 12-year secondary general education; Establishment of a technical and vocational education system; Providing a three-tier professional training system, the Bachelor-Master-Doctoral (Ph.D), based on an academic credit system consistent with the Bologna Declaration and international standards; Establishment of a national system for assessing the quality of education.
The main directions of this program are legally enshrined in the new Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Education," approved on July 27, 2007, which meets the needs of economic and social modernization and takes into account international requirements for new educational systems ( The Education Act of 27 July 2007). The structure of the Kazakhstan system is brought into accord with criteria of classification of educational programs of the International standard classification of formation of MSKO-1997 recommended to UNESCO. Thus, according to article 8 of the new law, the educational system includes seven levels. The first of them is preschool education and training. This is followed by primary, basic secondary, secondary, post-secondary, higher and, finally, postgraduate education.
The adherence of Kazakh universities to generally accepted principles of university education is evidenced by the fact that universities of the country sign the Magna Carta of Universities. To date, 18 universities of Kazakhstan have signed this Charter (Education and science in the Republic of Kazakhstan). Since 2007, focused work has been carried out on the introduction of a two-degree education program. According to the international program "Bolashak," which was initiated by the Head of State N.A. Nazarbayev, every year 3,000 students study abroad. Since 2008, all universities have switched to credit training technology. It is designed to ensure the academic mobility of students and teachers, the recognition of domestic educational programs and academic disciplines abroad. Kazakhstan has established a national accreditation system that takes into account international standards. In 2009, five national universities (KazNU named after al-Farabi, KazNTU named after K. Satpaev, KazNPU named after Abay, KazNAU and ENU named after L. Gumilev) accredited 10 educational programs.
Kazakhstan has expanded with 4 new countries the geography of student education within the framework of the Bolashak educational program. These included Austria, the Czech Republic, Ireland and South Africa. Also on the list is Hong Kong (China). Thus, now Kazakhstanis will be able to study under the Bolashak program in 27 countries. Despite the pandemic, the Center for International Programs has increased the number of universities for training. If last year there were 138, then in 2021-2023 their number increased to 207 universities.
At the same time, the selection criteria for higher educational institutions are also strengthened. For example, they should be included in three international academic rankings.
The scholarship system is also changing. It will include three periods: in June, in August and in November.
In 2021, 1055 scholarships were allocated for training under the Bolashak program. 555 of them will be allocated to master's, residency, doctoral and internship programs. Another 500 scholarships will be received by domestic scientists. (www.gov.kz)
The education system in Kazakhstan aims to ensure open access to education for all students. In this regard, a new model for the formation of a student contingent was introduced in the republic. Its essence is that state educational grants are provided to specific individuals based on the results of the Unified National Testing of School Graduates. Grants are allocated by the state from the republican budget for the most priority specialties for the country (Dzhumabaeva M. Education. Disputed system).
This was due to the fact that the development of the unresolved market for educational services in a rapidly changing economic situation, the lack of social partnership between employers and the vocational education system led to an imbalance in the training of personnel by educational levels and sectors of the economy.
Thus, in 2005, the number of trained labor maintenance specialists was 10 thousand people in the population, significantly lower than in higher education, and amounted to 162 students in colleges, 66 students in professional schools, and 439 students in universities. There has been an increase in training for services and the non-productive sector, while the need for technical, construction and agricultural skills has remained unmet (Dzhumabaeva M. Education. Disputed system).
In 2010, a two-stage state program for the development of education of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020 was adopted. The first stage of the state program is designed for 2011-2015, the second - for 2016-2020. The total amount of financing of the first stage will be more than 461 billion tenge (3.1 billion dollars). The program provides for the development and introduction of a new differentiated wage system taking into account the specifics of pedagogical activities. The plans are to combine the programs of school and university education, as well as higher education, science and production. In addition, a graduation program is introduced in the university system: research national universities, national universities, research universities, institutes, and academies. Under this program, out of 140 active universities of different forms of ownership, only 50 universities and 30 institutes should remain, the rest should be academies, their total number should not exceed 100 units (edu.gov.kz/ru/).
However, despite the measures taken in Kazakhstan, a number of problems in the field of higher education remain unresolved. This is mainly due to the problem of pedagogical personnel. On the one hand, this is the "aging" of the faculty of universities, and on the other hand, there is almost no sufficient influx of talented youth into the educational sphere. The main reason: insufficient wages compared to other sectors of the economy, which makes this profession less prestigious. In addition, in the system of higher vocational education, the gap in the interaction of universities with the sector of science, production and experimental bases is growing, which leads to a decrease in the quality of the educational process and the practical training of future specialists. In the training of personnel with higher education, "wasting of expensive specialties" takes place, in particular, in the natural-scientific and technical areas, without which the scientific and technical development of society is impossible.
An absolute proportion of specialists complete education after the first stage of higher multilevel education, which significantly reduces the overall level of higher education in the republic. The vocational education system does not give the necessary attention to the training and improvement of labor skills. There is insufficient research on this issue, on the basis of which it would be necessary to create conditions that ensure the flexibility, renewal and productivity of the educational process, the transfer of the necessary skills and skills that take into account the requirements of a changing labor market. In order to raise higher education in Kazakhstan to a new international level, constant and stable investments in the field of education and science are needed, which will help maximize the opportunities for training competitive domestic personnel.
Thus, during the period of independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a large step was taken to reform the educational system. Economic and educational development are inextricably linked. Without economic growth, it is impossible to develop the educational sphere on the one hand, and without highly qualified personnel, professionals there will be no economic progress.
References
Nikitina L.E. Social teacher at an educational institution (model and method of work). -M., 2001.
State programme for the development of education in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2005-2010. - Astana, 2004.
The Education Act of 27 July 2007.
https://pbprog.ru/regulation-docs/3327
Education and science in the Republic of Kazakhstan. (Information and statistical materials). - Astana, 2005.
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/323001468040169615/pdf/380520KZ0education0policy.pdf
Dzhumabaeva M. Education. Disputed system .//Business week. - 2000. - February 18.
Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan