KZBlog

English Advantage has an interesting post up about an article that appeared recently in Businesswomen.kz. There’s a discussion on whether or not Kazakhstan should adopt the “student-as-consumer” model of education that is gaining popularity in the West, but not among professors and teaching staff! It leads to the question of whether Kazakhstan should adopt everything and anything from the West or pick and choose.

Among reforms that are in place or being implemented now, obviously the move to the 12-year system was quite logical (Students in Kazakhstan currently study for 11 years in basic school, whereas in the US and Europe they study for 12 years) to make it easier for foreign universities to accept Kazakhstan students. Realigning higher education degrees to the bachelors-masters-doctorate division also allows for more international acceptance of students, scholars and professionals. Kazakhstan, like Russia, has additional degrees like specialist (5-year undergraduate study) and there is a difference between a doctorate and an aspirant or candidate of science that I have never been able to grasp.

Moving to the credit system is also not a bad idea for the same reason, namely international acceptance, although it was implemented in some places by just copying the West. For example, in the US professors have set office hours where students can come if they have a problem or a question. In the UK, students meet individually with professors to work on a project for the class. In Kazakhstan some universities seem to have forced students to basically spend the whole day at school, meeting with professors. As opposed to voluntarily letting those students come if they need extra help. Nonetheless, hopefully once the habit of consulting with professors and working independently is instilled, maybe universities will no longer feel the need to make them mandatory.

So, gentle readers, how do you feel about adopting Western models in Kazakhstan? Any reforms you see as useless? Any reforms you would like to see happen?