KYRGYZSTAN: successful youth – successful country
higher vocational education institutions in the country (33 public and 16 private), most of which (33) are in Bishkek. Batken, Naryn, Talas, and Chui provinces each have one higher vocational education institution. Issyk-Kul Province has two, Jalal-Abad Province has four, and the city of Osh has six. 42 Equal access to higher education is guaranteed through the use of the General National Test for Graduates and regulated by the “Regulation on the General National Test for Graduates Applying for State Educational Grants.” 43 During the 2007/2008 academic year, 29,400 students (11.7 percent) in HVE institutions were there on government scholarships, while the remaining 221,100 (88.3 percent) were paying. 44 According to one assessment, “the level of access to higher education in the republic is relatively high due to the low cost of education: full-time education for the pedagogic professions costs only 2,500 soms ($60) per year. For orphaned children, the disabled, members of the military, and children of permanent HVE institution staff, discounts of up to 25 percent are provided.” 45 Government scholarships for students at higher education institutions range from 24,000 soms for the Academy of the Arts to 3,000 soms for Talas University. Even standard higher education institutions feature considerable variety in government scholarships. Therefore, paying students end up subsidizing scholarship students. This situation has led to inefficient staffing. On average, there are 7.5 students per teacher in Kyrgyzstan. For comparison, higher education institutions in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states have about 14 students per teacher. In addition, Kyrgyzstan’s system is not cost effective: administrative and service personnel constitute 40-45 percent of staff. According to studies, students think curricula in many higher education institutions are outdated and do not take into account market demands and employers’ needs. 46 Out of 5,000 scholarship students in higher education institutions, only 30 percent find employment and the majority of those do not find work in their fields. Preliminary calculations show that the state “loses” around 25 million soms from its budget because the graduates, who got the public funding for their tuition, do not meet their commitment to work for two years in the public educational institutions. 47 Only 45 percent of youth are satisfied with the quality of education; almost every fifth respondent was not satisfied. A study of students in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Kyrgyzstan found that, on a five-point scale on their levels of knowledge, medical students in nine HEIs scored 2 to 2.6, law students in 24 HEIs scored 2.5 to 3.4, and economics students in 50 HEIs scored 2 to 3.5. 48 A survey showed that 24.8 percent of young people major in economics and management and 23 percent intend to become major in the liberal arts or in law. Only four percent study agriculture and 3.4 percent choose the services sector. This ratio shows the gap between the higher vocational education system and the structure of economy: 25.8 percent of the country’s GDP comes from agriculture and 43.9 percent from the service sector (see annexes). The state licensing and certification systems do not ensure high-quality education. Laws are limited by mechanisms based on a small number of comparative, evaluative indicators. 49 The government manages to control the quality of education “at the entrance,” rather than “at the exit.” In other words, the system ensures that good students enter universities, but it doesn’t ensure that they leave the universities with the skills they need to get jobs. There are no clear criteria for evaluating the performance of educational establishments. The systems for external audits and for ranking educational programmes are underdeveloped. Moreover, the independent agencies that evaluate educational programmes are still weak. Furthermore, students and employers are not involved enough in shaping the educational system. Education is still considered a public good, rather than a service provided by state and private service providers (despite a 2003 law that provides for reimbursement of damages caused by poor quality education). 50 Bribery and corruption have strong negative impacts on the quality of education. More than half of respondents in one study had direct experience with bribing, with half of them doing it more than once.51 This situation makes most people in Kyrgyzstan cynical about the value of certificates and degrees.
“In law school, in their first year, students dream of becoming Prosecutor General. In their second year – regional or district prosecutor. In their third year, they already want to become investigators. In years 4 or 5, they simply want to find a job and become a specialist in whatever is needed.” (FG participant, Osh) “The image of a teacher always evoked respect, but that ended the moment my teacher began giving us grades in exchange for money. In a teacher, we expect a person who knows everything. But, with us everything is the other way round – the teacher does not know his subject.” (FG, Osh)
42 “Education and Science in the Kyrgyz Republic.” (2008). Table1.4. Bishkek: National Statistics Committee. 43 Resolution and Decree №114 of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, March 30, 2004 “On Further Improvement of Procedures of Awarding State Educational Grants (scholarships), General Republican Testing for School Graduates and Their Competitive Admission to Higher Education Institutions of the Kyrgyz Republic.”
44 “Education and Science in the Kyrgyz Republic.” (2008). Table 11.17; 11.18. Bishkek: National Statistics Committee. 45 “Higher Education in Central Asia. Modernization Goals.” Thematic Study. (0000). World Bank. p. 139.
46 Report on the Results of a Sociological Research. (2006). Bishkek: Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia and “Expert” agency (Eight Higher Education Institutions of Bishkek and Osh participated in the survey (926 students and professors)). 47 Abdullaeva, U. Vice Prime-Minister of the KR. “At least 78 Percent of Kyrgyz Alumni Enter Higher Education Institutions.” April 6, 2009 at http:// eng.24.kg/politic/2009/04/06/7601.html 13:52, accessed on December 25, 2009.
48 MES and MI. Results of comprehensive inspection on compliance with licensing requirements of HEE. July 2006.
49 World Bank, Higher Education in CA. Goals of modernization. Thematic Study. 50 Law of the KR “On Education” as of 30 April 2003, CC KR №92 (article 41) 51 Report on the Results of an Independent Sociological Poll “Corruption Elements in Largest Higher Education Institutions in the Kyrgyz Republic” JSC “DialectICON”, Bishkek, 2006.