Changes to Bolashak Program discussed at Akorda

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - A session of the Republican Commission for training of staff abroad chaired by Secretary of State Gulshara Abdykalikova has been held in Astana today, Kazinform has learnt from the Akorda's press service.

Participants of the session discussed the approaches to further improvement of the Bolashak International Scholarship in line with the tasks outlined in the state-of-the-nation address "The Third Modernization of Kazakhstan: Global Competitiveness".

Secretary Abdykalikova especially stressed that achievement of the tasks will largely depend on the quality of education. That is why, in her words, the improvement of the scholarship program will help boost competitiveness of Kazakhstan's human capital.

Ms Abdykalikova noted that this is why the working group comprised of reps of the state bodies concerned, experts in international education and the Bolashak program graduates had been formed. The group came up with a number of recommendations taking into account the priorities outlined in the Kazakhstan 2050 Development Strategy and the National Plan "100 specific steps".

The working group suggests determining and strengthening the role of the scholarship in accordance with the strategic tasks on the path towards global competitiveness of human capital; finding new approaches to scholarship recipients selection and unlocking graduates' potential.

It was noted that it is crucial to invest into world-class education for Kazakhstani youth in order to ensure sustainable development of the country and enhancing its global competitiveness in the long term. There are plans to improve criteria and selection system of the candidates, determine priority areas of education and review requirements to foreign tertiary institutions.

The recommendations of the working group will be submitted to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for further work.