Studycountry about Kazakhstan education system
- 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. Full-time postgraduate studies (known in Kazakhstan as Aspirantura) that lead to the qualification of Candidate of Sciences (Kandidat Nauk) normally last for three years, and the submission of a thesis is required. Under the new system of higher education, a PhD is conferred after two to three years’ further study beyond the Master’s Degree, while the Doctor of Sciences (Doktor Nauk) is awarded after the Kandidat Nauk and after completion of a thesis based on original research.
Universities in Kazakhstan are typically headed up by a rector, appointed by the President of the nation, who wields considerable authority over the institution, approving all decisions including those regarding curriculum, personnel, and admission. This chain of command makes the universities in Kazakhstan much more centralized than their Western counterparts.
As of this writing, the top two universities in Kazakhstan are al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty and L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University located in Astana. Karaganda State University is also well-regarded.
Private universities also make up part of the tertiary educational landscape of Kazakhstan. These schools, usually non-profit institutions, are subject to the same regulations regarding curriculum but are free to set tuition and salaries as they see fit. Public universities are subject to the same regulations as other government-owned organs, regarding not only fees and salaries, but also administrative structure, contracting and subcontracting, and ownership of property.
State owned universities receive funding if their enrollment reaches 86,000 students or 34%. A small number of universities are financed through a budget line in the Republic budget, such as art academies or international universities. -
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.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan was faced with a myriad of difficulties inherited by the former, including:- Economic turmoil
- Social inefficiency
- A legacy of environmental disasters
- A huge stockpile of nuclear weapons.
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Young pioneers, SourceAt this monumental junction of its history, Kazakhstan had an important choice to make: empowerment through force and dictatorship, or prosperity through disarmament and democracy. The new Kazakhstan President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, chose the latter, and today Kazakhstan is emerging as a new player in the global economy, and a key component to regional and world stability.
Much of Kazakhstan’s success can be traced back to 1993, when the country became the first Asian nation to launch a presidential scholarship program: Bolashak, meaning “The Future” in the Kazakh language. This program highlights the importance of educating and training Kazakhstan’s most talented youth at the world’s best universities. On November 9, 1993, President Nazarbayev decreed, “In Kazakhstan’s transition toward a market economy and the expansion of international contacts, there is an acute need for cadres with advanced western education, and so, it is now necessary to send the most qualified youth to study in leading educational institutions in foreign countries.”
As a result of this decree, Bolashak scholars are today trained in a number of fields, including:- Business
- International relations
- Law
- Science
- Engineering
Upon completion of their foreign educational programs, recipients return to Kazakhstan and engage in governmental work for a period of five years. The rigorous criteria for selecting Bolashak scholars assures that only the best and most promising students, regardless of ethnicity, are named Bolashak Scholars.
The Bolashak program is fully funded by the Government of Kazakhstan and overseen by the Ministry of Education and Science. Since 1994, hundreds of Bolashak scholars have graduated from top universities around the world, including the following giants of American education:- Harvard
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Columbia
- Duke
- Georgetown
- Emory
- Carnegie Mellon
- Indiana University
- Vanderbilt
These same academics are currently working or have worked in various Kazakhstan government and international organizations, while contributing to the democratic transformation of their country.
Translator: Nurkabekova Alua - Incatalog.kz
