General Secondary Education
Over the past 15 years, the system of general secondary education has functioned quite steadily, with an increase in the network of public schools and the number of students. According to the National Statistical Committee, in 2005, there were 2045 mass schools operating in the republic, with 1,121.6 thousand students enrolled. In the republic's schools, education is conducted in several languages: 63.9% of students are taught in Kyrgyz, 24.5% in Russian, 13.5% in Uzbek, and 0.3% in Tajik. Additionally, in schools located in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, languages such as Korean, Dungan, Hebrew, Uighur, German, and Turkish are studied as native languages. Kyrgyz-Turkish educational institutions "Sebat" have been established in Kyrgyzstan based on an agreement between the Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Turkish Educational Association "Sebat." While in 1992 there was only one lyceum, today the "Sebat" educational institutions include 13 Kyrgyz-Turkish lyceums located in all regions of the republic, as well as the Center for Language Studies and Computer Literacy "Sekom" and the privately-public International School Silk Road. More than 4,000 students are enrolled in these educational institutions.
Since 2005, a Comprehensive Program for the Support and Development of Multilingual and Multicultural Education has been in effect in Kyrgyzstan.
Starting from the 1990s, alternative types and forms of schools and educational programs have been actively created in the republic. Currently, the mass school has about ten different variants of general education programs. There are 380 innovative schools operating in the republic (22% of the total number of secondary schools) with an enrollment of 147.8 thousand children, or 13.7% of the total number of students. This includes 110 gymnasiums, 65 lyceums, and 205 specialized schools with in-depth study of certain subjects.
Since 1992, educational institutions with non-state forms of ownership have begun to be established in the republic: private schools, private school complexes, and privately-public lyceums. Today, there are 38 private and privately-public schools in the republic. The number of non-state institutions increased from 7 in 1994 to 29 in 1997, followed by a slight decline to 25 in 2005.
The state pays special attention to rural schools. In 2005, the number of rural schools was 1694, which is more than 82.8% of all public schools in the country. They serve 816 thousand students, or 72.8% of the total number of students in the republic, and employ about 54 thousand teachers, which constitutes 72% of the teaching staff of all schools in the republic. As a result of educational reforms, the status of rural schools has changed. The material and technical condition and quality of education in rural schools increasingly depend on the economic capabilities of the regions and districts where they are located, the interested attitude of local government administrations and ayil okmotu (village administrations) towards education, as well as the economic situation of agricultural enterprises and farms, and the state of the social sphere as a whole.
At the same time, rural schools have not been left out of the changes occurring in the education system. Active creation of auxiliary farms (greenhouses, oil presses, mills, etc.), and service points for the population (hairdressers, shoe repair, sewing workshops) is underway in rural schools. The money earned from auxiliary farms and provided services is used for partial repairs, material and technical support for the educational process, and assistance to students from low-income and large families.
Rational use of donor and own funds has significantly increased the production of educational literature. In 2002, 27 titles of textbooks were published with a circulation of 1,506 thousand copies and 18 manuals with a circulation of 61 thousand copies. In 2003, 160 titles of textbooks, teaching aids, programs, and library materials were released and purchased with a circulation of 2,188 thousand copies. In 2004, 65 titles of textbooks and teaching materials were purchased and sent to schools with a circulation of 1 million 67 thousand copies, as well as 13 titles of educational programs for schools with Kyrgyz, Russian, and Uzbek languages of instruction and 30 titles of library materials.
To update the funds of educational literature in school libraries with Russian as the language of instruction, funds from a state loan provided by the Russian Federation to the Kyrgyz Republic in 1997 and working capital from the Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic were used.
As a result of the measures taken, the provision of schools with textbooks is 83.0% for schools with Kyrgyz as the language of instruction, 87.9% for schools with Russian, 75.2% for schools with Uzbek, and 63.7% for schools with Tajik. Overall, the provision of schools with textbooks in the republic is 77.4%. Thus, the provision of students with textbooks has improved compared to 2003, and there is a possibility, as the Comprehensive Program for the Support and Development of Multilingual and Multicultural Education is implemented, to fully resolve this issue by 2010.
Quality of Secondary Education. Significant attention has been paid to issues of guaranteeing the quality of education. In 1993, the National Testing Center was established, which introduced a testing methodology for assessing the knowledge of graduates of general education schools. During the existence of the Center, more than 10 thousand students have undergone mandatory testing, and about 70 thousand school graduates have been tested on a voluntary basis.
Kyrgyzstan's participation in international assessment programs has played a positive role in evaluating the quality of education. With financial support from UNESCO and UNICEF, "Monitoring of Student Achievements in 4th Grades" was conducted in 2000, and "Monitoring of Student Achievements in 8th Grades" in 2002. The results of the monitoring indicate the need to improve the quality of education and continue the practice of implementing an independent assessment system.
The republic also participates in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
In order to objectively assess the knowledge of graduates and ensure fair access to higher education, a nationwide testing for school graduates entering universities was introduced for the first time in 2002.
