Kazakh schoolchildren on par with European peers - minister

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Sagadiyev revealed that Kazakhstani schoolchildren are on par with their peers in Germany and the Slovak Republic, Kazinform reports. 

In his words, Kazakhstani schoolchildren demonstrated great results in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) scoring 536 points on average. That allowed Kazakhstan get the 27th spot among 50 countries participating in the international study of reading achievement in fourth graders.

"Our result is on par with those of Germany and the Slovak Republic," Minister Sagadiyev told the session of the Government on Tuesday.

At the same time Yerlan Sagadiyev admitted that there is a gap in the quality of education in urban and rural areas.

To bridge the gap, the ministry is planning to increase financing of rural school and improve quality of teaching there.