WEEKLY REVIEW: Kazakhstan reforms its education system, relaxes administrative barriers for business
On August 20, Astana played a host to the Eurasian forum of higher education leaders. "Nazarbayev University is a landmark for future development of higher education in Kazakhstan," Minister of Education and Science Bakytzhan Zhumagulov said, speaking at the forum in the Nazarbayev University.
"On the initiative of our President, the Ministry of Education and Science performs new high-level work: a systematic synthesis of education, science and innovation. It accumulates experience of the leading universities of the world, the latest achievements of science and education," B. Zhumagulov noted.
The Minister said that such breakthrough projects in Kazakhstan are also carried out at other levels of education. In secondary education they are the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools, in technical and vocational education - "Kasipkor" (Entrepreneur) Holding.
Kazakhstan successfully is implementing 124 bilateral intergovernmental agreements and memoranda on establishment of Central Asian higher education area, Kazakh Minister of Education and Science Bakytzhan Zhumagulov told.
"Kazakhstan's higher education system became a part of the European and CIS higher education space. We attach much importance to the establishment of the Central Asian higher education area. One of the effective mechanisms of Kazakhstan's integration into global education is the unique program "Bolashak" initiated by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1994," Zhumagulov stated.
"32 Kazakh higher education institutions will start tri-lingual education curricula since 2013," Bakytzhan Zhumagulov stated went on.
"Internationalization of education occupies a special place in the modern world. Within its framework, I want to emphasize the issue of training multilingual professionals. This is extremely important for Kazakhstan, which is rapidly developing its open economy and social sphere," Zhumagulov said.
The Minister noted that President Nursultan Nazarbayev has set a target, according to which Kazakhstan must become a highly educated country, whose population will speak three languages - Kazakh, Russian and English. Therefore, Kazakhstan is taking specific measures to develop multilingual education.
The same day Industry and New Technologies Minister Asset Issekeshev charged to elaborate a mechanism to facilitate subsoil use procedures pursuant to the President's task to lift administrative barriers for doing business.
On Tuesday, 1st Deputy Minister - chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Kazakh Defence Ministry Saken Zhasuzakov paid a working trip to Almaty and Guards Garrisons. The Military Institute of the Army Forces held there the meeting on the results of entry to the military educational establishments of Kazakhstan Armed Forces and foreign institutions.
On Wednesday, Give hope for life campaign started at the National Scientific Centre for Maternity and Childhood in Astana aimed at attracting public attention to donorship problem in Kazakhstan. Vice Minister of Health Erik Baizhunussov said, that 600 children are suffering from leukemia in the country. 50 of them annually need transplantation of bone marrow (hematopoietic) stem cells.
Over 2.5 thousand rural residents started their business within the second direction of the Employment - 2020 Program over 7 months of 2012, the press service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population said on Thursday.
The number of people obtained micro credits reached 3364. 2578 of them started their business. The main spheres of entrepreneurship development are cattle breeding, meat products manufacturing, cultivation of vegetables and gourds. About 76% of the extended credits was spent for it.
Thereat, about 10% of the new entrepreneurs started their business in the processing industry (production of bakery products, milk and meat processing) and in the service sphere (tailor shops and repair shops, bathhouses and barbershops).
The average micro credit made 1.985 million tenge.
Kazakh Science and Education Minister Zhumagulov participated in August Conference "Pedagogical Innovation: from Development to Implementation" in the Nazarbayev Intellectual School on Friday. It focused on preschool, secondary and vocational education problems.
"In the new academic year experiment on the 12-year education will continue in the 9-10 grades in 104 schools of the country, Vice Minister of Education and Science Makhmetgali Sarybekov announced there.
"It is impossible to immediately modernize the huge system of education, which includes a third of the population. Therefore, on the instruction of the President of Kazakhstan, we have created the so-called "points of growth". These experimental platforms, such as the Nazarbayev University, Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools must develop innovations, test them and introduce in the school system," Sarybekov said.
He noted that one of the major components of the education system upgrade is to transit to the 12-year education. The Ministry prepared the legal framework, developed strategic documents