The Education System in Kazakhstan
The education system in Kazakhstan is overseen
by the Ministry of Education and administered at the local level.
Schooling is mandatory for all students between the ages of 6 and 15, although
there are several pre-university educational options for students between the
ages of 16-18 as well. Below you will find the various levels that make
up Kazakhstan’s system of education, beginning with Kindergarten and
culminating with the various higher education opportunities available in the
country for students seeking advanced degrees and diplomas.
Kindergarten Education in Kazakhstan
As per the country’s Constitution, all children
in Kazakhstan have access to kindergarten education, which is offered at no
cost to the family. Kindergarten typically serves students between the
ages of 4 and 5, and while students are not mandated to attend this one-year
level of education it is estimated that nearly 80 percent of children do begin
their formal education at this stage. Kazakhstan is home to over 100
kindergartens, over 80 percent of which are public institutions, serving
approximately 150,000 children each year.
Kindergarten classes are held five days a week
in Kazakhstan for approximately 3-4 hours a day. The curriculum during
this stage of education includes pre-writing, reading and arithmetic, art,
music and play. All kindergartens are currently expected to teach both
Kazakh and Russian, and most emphasize one language over the other.
Kindergartens in Kazakhstan play an important
role in helping prepare students for their first year of state-mandated primary
education. Children learn to socialize and work cooperatively with other
students and their teacher through group work and games and come to know what is
expected of them both academically and behaviorally in a school setting.
Primary Education in Kazakhstan
Primary education in Kazakhstan typically begins
at age 6 and spans four academic years—Grade 1 through Grade Four.
Classes generally run in two sessions, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 1:00
PM to 5:00 PM; with students either going to class in the morning or in the
afternoon.
All primary schools in Kazakhstan are
state-owned and constitutionally protected. The curriculum for these
schools is developed and established by the Ministry of Education and
individual schools are mandated to teach the ascribed curriculum to a “T”, thus
giving students the best chance of success, with each year building on the one
before. Textbooks are provided by the government to each of the country’s
primary schools, which in turn lend them to the students for their use in that
particular year.
The curriculum in Kazakhstan’s primary schools
includes courses in reading, basic mathematics, writing, Kazakh and Russian
language arts, science, social science, art, music and physical education.
Primary school education 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 Education in
Kazakhstan
The period known as lower secondary or basic
school in Kazakhstan is similar to middle or junior high school education in
other countries like the United States. This level of education typically
begins at age 10 or 11 and spans a total of five years in duration—Grades 5
through Grade 9.
Some lower secondary school classes share same
the same campus with the primary school (or higher secondary school) in the
immediate area, while others may form a separate campus altogether.
The curriculum students can expect to encounter
while participating in lower secondary school depends on their specific age and
grade level. At the lower levels, the curriculum is very similar to that
of the primary school, albeit more advanced, with subjects such as mathematics,
general science, social science, Russian or Kazakh language arts (depending on
the primary language of the individual school) and physical education.
Older lower secondary education students, such as those in the 8 and 9 grades,
can study more advanced subjects such as foreign language, Kazakh, Russian and
World Literature, history, algebra (and other higher mathematics courses), physics,
biology, chemistry and many others.
Higher Secondary School Education in
Kazakhstan
Once students successfully complete their lower
secondary school education they are permitted to follow one of three available
tracks at the higher secondary school level. Students may choose only one
track, meaning they are not permitted to enroll in two or more tracks
simultaneously.
The first track that is available to students is
known as the General Education track, which spans two years and comprises
grades 10 and 11. This track is purely academic in nature and is designed
for students who plan to pursue university studies after finishing secondary
school. The curriculum for general higher secondary education is similar
to that of its lower secondary counterpart, although the subject matter
students will encounter is much more difficult. All instruction is geared
towards preparing students for university admission following graduation.
In addition to the general education track of
higher secondary education there are also two types of vocational tracks:
·
Initial Vocational Education
·
Secondary Vocational Education
Initial Vocational Education in Kazakhstan is
provided by the country’s (initial) training schools and lycees,while
Secondary Vocational Education is provided by colleges.
Below we will take a look at the various
institutions that provide basic and advanced vocational education and the type
of programs they institute.
Training Schools (Initial Vocational Education Track)
Training schools in Kazakhstan are designed to
train students in a trade or skilled profession of some type. These
programs, which are entirely vocational in nature, can span anywhere from one
to three years, depending on the type of trade or profession in which the
student is focusing his/her study.
Graduates of training schools can go on to
further their studies at either a vocational college or university, or enter
the world of employment in the same or related trade. Training school
education is provided for students free of cost, although students may be
required to purchase special equipment, textbooks and other materials.
Lycees (Initial Vocational Education Track)
The lycees in Kazakhstan are also set up to
offer students an initial or basic program of vocational education and to
prepare them for a variety of skilled professions. However, lycees differ
from training schools in that they also offer basic academic education along
with specific vocational program instruction. All of the programs in the
country’s lycees span three academic years, often referred to as grades 10-12.
Colleges (Secondary Vocational Education
Track)
Secondary or Advanced Vocational Education is
provided by Kazakhstan’s colleges, with programs that also include general
academic education. Depending on the field of study, the program length
at the country’s colleges can span anywhere from three to four years—Grades
10-12 or Grades 10-13. 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 the university to continue their
education or they can opt to begin working in their chosen field of study.
After the 1999 Budget Law was passed, colleges
became state-owned and self-financed. This was done in part to ensure more
of the country’s students continued their education past the compulsory age of
15.
The curriculum for both initial and secondary
vocational education 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.
Tertiary Education in Kazakhstan
Tertiary or higher education in Kazakhstan is
provided mainly by the country’s universities. Following the Russian
system of tertiary education, universities in the country focus entirely on
teaching and do not engage in research (as universities do in other parts of
the world).
Students who wish to apply for university
admittance must, at minimum, possess a leaving certificate or its recognized
equivalent from one of the country’s higher secondary education
institutions. Since 2004, all secondary school graduates have also had to
pass a new exam, the Edinoe Nacional'noe Testirovanie(Unified
National Testing Exam) and receive the corresponding diploma, the Certificat
o Rezul'tatah EHT(replacing the Complex Testing Exam) to enter a
university. Some schools may also require a separate entrance
examination, as may specific departments within a given university.
As with most modern universities, the higher education
institutions in Kazakhstan offer a number of degree options in hundreds of
possible majors. Currently there are four levels of tertiary education in
Kazakhstan:
·Bachelor Degree. The Bachelor degree in
Kazakhstan typically spans four years or eight full semesters for full-time
students. These basic higher education degrees provide students with the
required fundamentals specific to their chosen field of study.
·Specialist Degree. The Specialist degree
or diploma, which generally spans five years in duration, includes specialized
education that is a bit more intensive than the normal Bachelor degree.
·Masters Degree. Scientific-pedagogical
education in Kazakhstan can lead to a Master’s degree, which typically spans an
additional two years in duration after the Bachelor or Specialist degree.
·Doctoral Degree. Doctoral degrees,
leading to the Doctor of Science or PhD degree, can span anywhere from two too
five years after the Master’s degree.
The Bolashak Scholarship and Scholars
Finally, no discussion of education in
Kazakhstan would be complete without mentioning the Bolashak Scholarship and
Scholars, but first a bit of background.
History has shown time and again that reforming
the educational system of a nation by training highly qualified professionals
is always one of the keys to making a society more progressive and democratic.
Some historical examples of this success include Post World War II Japan,
Turkey and Hong Kong, just to name a few. These nations have built
economically and politically viable states through pursuing an active policy of
learning from the most advanced educational systems in the world.
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