A correspondent from "AIF" tried to figure out how the state officials are addressing the main issues in the education sector.
The first stage is school. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, as of September 1, 2015, there were 2,027 secondary educational institutions in the Kyrgyz Republic that were short of 2,340 teachers, mainly in mathematics, physics, and Russian language. In some regions, there were cases where one teacher taught 3-4 subjects: for example, biology, geography, Russian language, and literature all together.
What is being done: 1,800 graduates were assigned to the vacancies. To attract experienced educators to the positions, a decision was made to increase salaries. According to the Department of Financial Policy and Budget Analysis of the ministry, starting from September 1, 2015, the hourly rate for teachers of grades 5-11 was increased by 50%, and for teachers of grades 1-4 by 80%.
- A more significant increase affected teachers in rural areas since their allowances for work remained unchanged. For example, a Kyrgyz language and literature teacher in the village of Ak-Moyun, who previously earned 18,500 soms, will now receive an increased salary of 27,750 soms, which is one and a half times higher. There will also be a greater difference for primary school teachers and those in preschool organizations, as they had their hours in the educational program reduced the most in previous years, - promised the head of the department, Asel RYSKELDIEVA. - Increased pay will be given to teachers working in high-altitude conditions; for instance, a primary school teacher in the village of Ak-Kiya, with a workload of 23 hours, will now earn 22,636 soms instead of 11,000 as before.
In practice, however, the increase turned out to be mainly just 1,600-2,000 soms after all taxes and fees were deducted. Furthermore, starting from January 1, 2016, according to the Minister of Education and Science Elvira Sarieva, monthly allowances of 1,000-1,500 and 2,000 soms are planned for qualifications such as "methodologist," "mentor," and "master." To receive these, all teachers must undergo re-certification, regardless of their work experience and titles such as "Honored Teacher" or "Excellence in Public Education."
There is also a shortage of textbooks: some have to be purchased by parents, while others are rented. Most of the books are still Soviet-era, which were used by the parents and grandparents of today's students. The republic is unable to print new textbooks, and the books that come to the Kyrgyz Republic through grants are mainly distributed to schools in Bishkek and the Chui region. Currently, there is a shortage of about 12 million books for students across the country, but only 100 million soms have been allocated for their purchase out of the necessary 600 million.
What is being done: There is a program called "Electronic School," but computerization at the level of "1 computer (1 tablet) - 1 child" is not present everywhere, just as uninterrupted electricity and internet access are not guaranteed.
The education itself is lagging at the international level. The Kyrgyz Republic was excluded from the ranking of the international program for assessing student educational achievements, PISA, which includes almost 70 countries worldwide. Tests assessing students' literacy and ability to apply knowledge in practice showed that reading and comprehension, mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography, and biology are almost like Chinese characters for 15-year-old citizens.
What is being done: In 2012, the Ministry of Education and the Kyrgyz Academy of Education concluded that students are overloaded with information. As a result, the number of hours for teaching key general education subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and Russian and Kyrgyz languages began to be reduced. Consequently, courses started to turn into aids for the gifted among the underdeveloped, and the average student cannot pass testing or exams for admission to foreign universities without tutors. Meanwhile, questions about introducing new subjects into the general education curriculum, ranging from religious studies and cultural studies to sex education, are periodically raised in parliament. There are also discussions about abolishing the nationwide testing (ORT), which has been in effect since 2002 and is mandatory for all 11th graders in the republic. The Russian equivalent of the Unified State Exam (EGE) is aimed at rote memorization of answers in tests rather than systematic knowledge among children, which raises complaints from everyone—from parents to public figures—yet satisfies the officials of the Ministry of Education.
The next stage is higher education. Approximately 240,000 people pass through 54 higher educational institutions in the republic each year. However, the number of institutions is not an indicator of the quality of work. Only 10% of teachers hold academic degrees. Due to miserable salaries, many professors and academics teach lectures at several universities, which affects the quality of the material taught. Moreover, the material itself has been significantly reduced due to the Kyrgyz Republic's transition to a two-tier Bologna system of "bachelor-master" since September 1, 2012. According to this system, the university offers a set of courses that the student can choose and is subsequently required to attend: for example, prioritizing either exact or humanitarian disciplines. The student selects the teachers themselves and studies almost all course materials independently. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in a narrow field and not being burdened with knowledge in other areas, they can continue their education in a master's program in a different direction. It was assumed that this system would reduce unnecessary subjects and meet the needs of the labor market. However, statistics tell a different story: according to the Ministry of Labor of the Kyrgyz Republic, only about 10% of university graduates can find employment. In 2015, 70% of the demand in the labor market consisted of requests for working professions and specialists in the service sector: cooks, hairdressers, drivers, auto service workers, builders, and waiters.
What is being done: For the 2015-2016 academic year, enrollment in non-core specialties has been halted, and budget places have been reduced. In 2016-2017, the principle of state orders for specialists will be implemented, and a monitoring of the effectiveness of universities will be conducted, with the weakest being closed based on the results. The strong will be promised technical equipment and various support.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyz citizens are traveling to Kazakhstan, Russia, the USA, Turkey, China, and Malaysia for better quality education, not sparing money and effort for this. Recruiters from many universities and colleges come to the republic themselves. They conduct entrance examinations in the schools of the country long before the ORT, checking true knowledge rather than memorized test answers. In addition to a bright future, they promise a decent present: dormitories with all amenities, access to quality knowledge and grants, and decent scholarships by local standards. Among the priority areas are medicine, economics and finance, oil and gas, computer and information technology, law, and linguistics. It may turn out that soon there will be simply no one left to teach in the Kyrgyz Republic.