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The Republic of Kyrgyzstan is a small, mountainous, landlocked country in Central Asia approximately the size of the U.S. state of South Dakota and with a population in 1999 of 4.8 million inhabitants. Bordered by China in the east, Kazakhstan in the north, Uzbekistan in the west, and Tajikistan in the south, it was one of the smaller, more obscure constituent republics of the former Soviet Union …
Constitutional Provisions & Laws Affecting Education: Universal free education in Kyrgyzstan was first enshrined in the USSR constitution in the 1970s. It provided for state-subsidized education for all with the goal of 100 percent literacy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the government wrote and adopted on the 12 May 1993 a constitution for the new nation. Article 32 i…
Compulsory Education & Age Limits: In 1996 Kyrgyzstan had a school age population of 674,000, which was up from 651,000 just 6 years earlier. Education is compulsory for 9 years, comprising 4 years in a primary school from age 6 through 10, followed by secondary school for 5 years up to the age of 15. At this point students can leave school or continue their studies in either an upper secon…
General Survey: Before 1990, Kyrgyzstan had an extensive system of kindergartens that provided preschool care from the age of one year up to the time children started primary school. This system was state run and an excellent preparation for school system entry. Mass privatization and the divesting of kindergarten facilities by the state and the new private enterprises has led to a massive reducti…
General Survey: The drop in the number of teachers throughout the Kyrgyz Republic has been particularly marked in the secondary schools. In 1995 there were 38,915 secondary school teachers, but by 1998 this figure had fallen to 35,254. In 1995 there were 498,849 students. Curriculum—Examinations & Diplomas: The most important diploma a student obtains is his or her Secondary School C…
Types—Public & Private: Until 1990, the only university in Kyrgyzstan was Kyrgyz State University in the capital, Bishkek. However, in regional centers around the country, a large number of institutes affiliated with Kyrgyz State University offered a wide range of subjects and degrees upon graduation. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyz State University still exists, but the f…
Government Educational Agencies: There are essentially two levels of educational responsibility in Kyrgyzstan. At the local level, administrative bodies (Village, Rayon, and Oblast councils) are responsible for school provision, maintenance, and teaching materials, including teachers. At the state level the Ministry of Education sets the curriculum for all primary and secondary public schools, whi…
Adult Education: Adult education has been recognized as a priority in the republic in order for adults to adjust to the new socioeconomic system. However, requiring
students or businesses to pay for this learning seems to be a major obstacle to its success in difficult economic times. Foreign languages, bookkeeping and accounting, marketing and market economics, management, and computer lit…
Training & Qualifications: Thirteen higher education institutions offer teacher training, along with four dedicated teacher training colleges. Prospective teachers attend these institutions for five years before graduating. In 1999 teacher training colleges enrolled 14,000 students, and each year the nation graduates 1,000 to 1,500 new teachers. In view of the high birth rates, this number …
The Kyrgyz educational system faces significant challenges. Once a model of literacy, availability, and accomplishment, it has been eroded by external environmental problems and a difficult adjustment to a necessary internal structural change. The principal challenges appear to be: The former Soviet republics enjoyed a period of significant western interest in their transition for most of the 1990…
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