Education in Kyrgyzstan is compulsory for nine years, between ages seven and 15.Kyrgyzstan country profile

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Federal Research Division The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress. The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Unit ...

(January 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

.'' Following four years of primary and five years of lower secondary school, the system offers two years of upper secondary school, specialized secondary school, or

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious c ...

/ technical school. The Ministry of Education and Science (MES) is in charge of education in

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

. Budget cuts that have reduced teacher salaries and equipment availability are reflected disproportionately in reduced numbers of female students. In 2008, 3.7 percent of

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

was spent on education. In 2001 some 89 percent of the relevant age-group was enrolled in the compulsory program, but this figure has decreased in the early 2000s. In 2004 the

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

in Kyrgyzstan was 98.7 percent. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) finds that Kyrgyzstan is fulfilling only 89.3% of what it should be fulfilling for the

right to education The right to education has been recognized as a human right in a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a right to free, compulsory primary education for ...

based on the country's level of income. HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Kyrgyzstan's income level, the nation is achieving 84.2% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education and 94.4% for secondary education.

Structure and organization

Pre-school and primary education

Pre-school is addressed to children from 3 to 6/7 and is not compulsory. Access to it is limited (net enrollment ratio of 10% in 2005). Primary school usually starts at 6 or 7, lasts four years and is compulsory. Since 2007, uniforms are required in primary education. The law was pointed out as a source of school-drop out, as the uniform has to be bought by the parents. Teaching quality is sometime described as "poor": Kyrgyzstan ranked last in reading, mathematics and science at PISA 2006.

Secondary education

Secondary education begins with the basic secondary education, which lasts four years and is compulsory. Students have then the choice between comprehensive and vocation educations. Comprehensive education is constituted of a two-year curriculum, which grants — if completed — a certificate of completion ("attestat"). The certificate is generally required to join a university. Vocational education is offered through three kinds of courses: A three-year course mixing vocational and general education and preparing for higher education, a two-year course mixing vocational and general education (without preparation to higher education), and a ten-month course of pure vocational education (also open to adults). Vocational education is given in professional lyceum and vocational technical colleges.

Tertiary education

Higher education includes universities, academies, specialized higher education institutes and institutes. There are 54 tertiary education institutions: 33 public for 21 private. The gross enrolment rate in higher education was 12.5% in 2011/2012. Universities deliver bachelor's (Bakalavr) degrees in four years, which allows students to pursue master's (Magistr) programs, lasting two years. They also offer a "specialist degree" (specialist) in five (or six for medical and architecture studies) years. The specialist and the master's degrees open the door to PhD programs (aspirantura). Academies offer the same degrees in fields of scientific activity. An institute is usually a specialized branch of a university or an academy. Specialized higher education institutes are narrow profiles institutions. There were criticisms about the competency of university lecturers in Kyrgyzstan: if a master's degree is theoretically required to teach at university, most teachers actually hold a Bachelor or even no degree at all.

References

External links

World Data on Education: Kyrgyzstan, UNESCO-IBE(2011)
Overview of the Kyrgyz Education system
Vocational Education in Kyrgyzstan, UNESCO-UNEVOC(2013)
Overview of the kyrgyz Vocational Education system. {{DEFAULTSORT:Education In Kyrgyzstan