NON-STATE ACTORS IN EDUCATION
2.2 Non-state education provision
3.1 Regulations by distinct levels of education
- Early childhood care and education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
- Primary and secondary education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
- Tertiary education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
3.3 Supplementary private tutoring
The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Education (hereafter the Law on Education) uses both non-state and private in referring to non-state actors in education. These terms are not further defined in the law.
The Law on Education (article 43) identifies a variety of providers and funding sources. Besides the state and municipal, general education may be provided in private institutions, including religious ones, by individuals and legal entities. Educational institutions are allowed to receive funds from individuals, legal entities and foreign states, voluntarily deposited funds, voluntary donations and targeted contributions from individuals and legal entities and other sources not prohibited by law.
According to the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic (article 45:4), the state creates conditions for the development of state, municipal and private educational institutions. The term non-state is not mentioned.
2.1 State education provision
State schools
In Kyrgyzstan, most schools in primary (5 years beginning at age 7), basic secondary (4 years beginning at age 11f) and general secondary (2 years, beginning at age 16) are state schools (93,8%). They are compulsory and free (article 15).
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, public education in Kyrgyzstan faced significant challenges many of which were related to a sharp reduction of government funding. As a result, education in the Kyrgyz Republic became dependent on aid from global financial institutions and philanthropic organizations, including World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, the Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan, USAID, the UK Department for International Development, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and others. Besides financial support, these organizations play an important role in forming policy and content of education.
Non-state managed, state schools
No information was found.
Non-state funded, state schools
While no specific information on non-state funded state schools was found, as mentioned earlier, public schools are entitled to receive finds from state and local budgets, educational institutions may receive funds from individuals and legal entities, foreign states acting as their founder(s) (article 43). In 2020, payments from households constituted one of the most common sources of private investment in education.
2.2 Non-state education provision
Independent, non-state schools
Private schools in Kyrgyzstan operate without subsidies from national, regional or local governments. Nevertheless, statistical reports indicate a noticeable expansion of the private sector during the last decade both in absolute numbers and as a share. Whereas in 2007 there were 55 private schools in the country (2,5%) with 15665 students (0,14%), in 2019 there were 142 private schools (6,2%) which enrolled 35995 (2,5%) students. Most private schools are located in large cities.
In general, Kyrgyz education has long been suffering from the lack of qualified teachers. In this regard, private schools have some advantages. As of 2019, on average there were 10 students per teacher in private schools whereas in public ones this indicator was 17:1.
Judging by mass media coverage, international schools are an important part of the private education sector. For instance, a Turkish-Kyrgyz network of private schools and lyceums Sapat, established in 1992, today has branches in all regions of the country. Schools with international accreditation that offer teaching in English (e.g. QSI International, Cambridge Silk Road International, ESCA Bishkek International) charge the highest tuition fees in the country.
Over the past two decades, Kyrgyzstan saw a rapid growth of religious educational offerings. According to State Commission for Religious Affairs the country currently has 87 registered madrasas. Recent research on madrasa-based education shows that most of these schools do not charge tuition fees but parents pay for food, bedding and textbooks. Economically, these schools rely primarily on local donors from lower and middle classes.
State-funded (government-aided), non-state schools
No information was found.
Contracted, non-state schools
No information was found.
2.3 Other types of schools
Homeschooling
According to the Law on Education (article 14), education can be received in the form of family and individual education, including home education. Article 27 specifies that parents (or guardians) have the right to provide their child with primary, basic general and general secondary education at home only in “exceptional cases”. The Regulation on organization of individual education of children at home states that only children with disabilities are entitled to receive education at home. However, according to the NSC, in 2019 only 52% of children who did not attend a school were children with disabilities. Among other reasons for non-enrollment were, for example, “material difficulties”, “domestic reasons”, and “unwillingness of parents”.
Market contracted (Voucher schools)
No information was found.
The management of both state and non-state education in the Kyrgyz Republic is carried out by the Ministry of Education and Science and its regional branches, and local government bodies (article 34). While the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) develops education policy, establishes educational standards, controls the implementation of the legal framework and is responsible for quality assurance (by means of licensing, accreditation, national assessment tests), the local governments are mainly responsible for implementing state policy and ensuring the access to education (article 35, 36).
Until recently, there were no mechanisms for monitoring the activities of religious educational organizations. The Concept of State Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Religious Sphere for 2014-2020 points at the need of modernizing Islamic pedagogy and education, adopting standards for religious education and streamlining the licensing process.
Regardless of the type of ownership, educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan are granted organizational, professional, financial and other types of autonomy envisaged by the statutory documents and other legislative regulations (article 37).
Vision: The government stimulates the growth of private preschools and schools by providing them with tax incentives (see below). Furthermore, one of the strategic policy priorities for the period 2020-2040 is to increase the effectiveness of education by attracting extrabudgetary funding sources from both domestic and international non-state actors.
3.1 Regulations by distinct levels of education
According to Law on Education (article 15), pre-primary education in Kyrgyzstan covers children from 6 months to 7 years and can be received in state, municipal or private educational institutions or at home. In the latter case, local authorities must organize and provide methodological, diagnostic and advisory assistance to parents.
In 2018, there were 172 private preschools (11,5%) with 10185 children (5,2%) enrolled. It should be noted, that only 39% of all children aged 3-5-years attended ECCE in 2018. The government’s ambition to increase the coverage of ECCE to 80% by 2022 is supported through BELDS initiative.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: See Multi-level regulations.
Profit-making: See Multi-level regulations.
Taxes and subsidies: According to the Tax Code private institutions of pre-primary education are exempt from income tax (article 212:10), VAT (article 251), sales tax (article 315:1:6), taxes on public land (article 343:10)
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and learning standards: See Multi-level regulations.
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Fee-setting: No information was found.
Admission selection and processes: See Multi-level regulations.
Policies to support vulnerable groups: See Multi-level regulations.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Reporting requirements: No information was found.
Inspection: No information was found.
Child assessment: No information was found.
Sanctions: : No information was found.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: See Multi-level regulations.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH): While no specific regulations on WASH were found, compliance with sanitary norms and rules is one of the conditions for obtaining a licence (article 11). All educational institutions, according to the Law on Education (article 31), must create conditions that guarantee the protection and promotion of students’ health.
Profit-making: See Multi-level regulations.
Taxes and subsidies: According to the Tax Code private institutions of primary and secondary education are exempt from income tax (article 212:12) and VAT (article 251:3).
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: See Multi-level regulations.
Textbooks and learning materials: The Law on Education (article 36) stipulates for free provision of textbooks and learnings materials to children from rural areas and economically disadvantaged families. It guarantees the free provision of textbooks for students from low-income families attending rural schools (article 36). The law also provides for the possibility of borrowing textbooks (article 45).
In order to ensure the implementation of State Standards, the Ministry of Education establishes a list of recommended textbooks. The current list consists of 224 textbooks most of which are in the Russian language and many published by Russian publishing houses.
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Corporal punishment: Corporal punishment is prohibited. According to the Law on Education (article 28) of the teachers should prevent the use of emotional, mental and physical violence against children.
Other safety measures and COVID-19: At the beginning of the COVID the UNICEF office in the Kyrgyz Republic received a GPE grant of 70 thousand USD to support the Ministry of Education. The funds were used for developing online learning platforms.
Fee-setting: No information was found.
Admission selection and processes: See Multi-level regulations.
Policies to support vulnerable groups: See Multi-level regulations.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
School board: See Multi-level regulations.
Reporting requirements: No information was found.
Inspection: No information was found.
Child assessment: No information was found.
Sanctions: No information was found.
Higher education in Kyrgyzstan includes training of bachelors, specialists and masters (article 22) provided in state and non-state higher educational institutions (HEI). Kyrgyzstan has 38 public HEIs (69%) and 17 private (31%) (2019). Private HEIs do not receive any financial support from the government and have financial autonomy.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: See Multi-level regulations.
Profit-making: See Multi-level regulations.
Taxes and subsidies: See Multi-level regulations.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and learning standards: See Multi-level regulations.
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Fee-setting: See Multi-level regulations.
Admission selection and processes: The Law on Education does not contain any specific regulations concerning rules for admission to non-state HEIs. Admission to bachelor programs is based on the results of the national assessment test (article 40), but institutions develop the rules for admission independently (article 10).
3.2 Multi-level regulations
Most regulations related to non-state actors are the same for all levels of education, under the Law on Education (2003), from pre-primary education to tertiary education
Registration and approval: According to the Law on Education (article 13), apart from the government and local authorities, educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan can be established by legal entities, individuals and international organizations under the condition that they comply with the state educational standards or international treaties.
According to the Law on Education, accreditation is defined as a procedure for assessing the quality level of an educational institution (institutional accreditation) or its individual programs (program accreditation) in order to confirm that the quality of institutions and (or) their programs is in compliance with the requirements and criteria determined by the government of the Kyrgyz Republic (articles 1 and 40). State accreditation of educational institutions, both public and private, is carried out by accreditation agencies on the basis of a written application and is valid in 5 years. Accreditation agencies can be created in the form of non-governmental, non-profit organizations and are funded by fees charged from educational institutions (article 1).
If the quality of education does not meet the established requirements, educational organizations will be denied accreditation.
Licence: In accordance with the Law on Education (article 40), non-state educational institutions are required to obtain the appropriate licence prior to commencing any educational activities. The purpose of licensing is to ensure the quality of education at the level of state standards (article 1). Religious organizations (associations) may obtain a licence upon the recommendation of the leadership of the respective confession and with the consent of authorized body for religious affairs (article 40).
A safe learning environment is one of the licensing requirements for both state and non-state educational institutions. In accordance with Temporary Regulation on the Procedure for Licensing Educational Activities, to obtain a licence, educational institutions must provide documents confirming the compliance of school buildings and infrastructures with sanitary standards and fire safety requirements.
The licence has no expiry date.
Profit-making: As mentioned above, both public and private educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan are entitled to generate profit from providing paid services. In particular, the Law on Education (article 43) stipulates that state and municipal schools are allowed to collect financial and material resources from individuals and legal entities. Article 1 of the Law on Education refers to paid educational services provided by state educational institutions as “off-budget educational activities”.
The law emphasizes that paid educational services can only be provided on a voluntary basis and it is not allowed to demand from students and their parents the provision of financial and other material assistance for educational institutions (article 43). State educational organizations spend the funds received from the provision of additional educational services in agreement with board of trustees (article 17).
No specific regulations regarding profit making in private schools have been found.
Taxes and subsidies: Kyrgyzstan has adopted per-capita model of funding education (article 44). The model does not apply to private institutions. The Law on Education (article 44) says that the funding standards for non-state educational organization cannot be lower than the funding standards for the state ones.
According to the Regulations on the formation and application of tariffs for paid educational services (paragraph 12), paid educational activities are not considered entrepreneurial and the income received from them can be used to reimburse the costs of providing education.
Educational institutions, including non-state, are exempt from property tax (article 330:4). Furthermore, the services of non-commercial educational institutions are not subject to VAT and sales tax (articles 252:2, 315:2:2).
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: Irrespective of organizational form and type of ownership, educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan are granted academic autonomy (articles 37) and develop their curricula independently within the requirements of state education standards for appropriate level (articles 1, 5). The Standards are developed and approved by the Ministry of Education and establish a minimum list of subjects or disciplines, their content and the terms for mastering each general or professional education program (article 11).
Teaching profession: Educational institutions develop and implement the personnel policy independently within the limits envisaged by the law (article 37).
According to the Law on Education (article 28) in order to engage in teaching activities, teacher must have relevant education and pedagogical qualifications. There are no specific requirements for teachers in non-state educational institution. Teachers in religious educational institutions must have special religious education certified by an appropriate document in accordance with the law On Freedom of Religion and Religious Organizations in the Kyrgyz Republic (article 6:6).
Persons with a criminal record or medically unfit in accordance with the list determined by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, are prohibited from teaching. Teachers are required to constantly develop their professional level and improve their qualifications at least once every 5 years (article 29).
Admission selection and processes: The Law on Education does not regulate rules for admission to educational institution, irrespective of their ownership. Article 10 says that the procedures and rules of admission are determined by the statutory documents of an educational institution.
Policies for vulnerable groups: As stipulated in the Temporary Regulation on the Procedure for Licensing Educational Activities (No 334), availability of special conditions for meeting the needs of students with disabilities is one of the licensing requirements. According to the NSC there exist one private school for children with special needs.
According to the Tax Code (article 171) taxpayers, who are parents to children under the age of 24, are entitled to a social deduction for payments they made to a licenced educational institution of pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education or to the board of trustees. This amount of a social deduction should not exceed 10% of the taxpayer’s tax base or 25% for taxpayers with three or more children.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Board: The Law on Education (article 38) contains several regulations regarding the appointment, the rights and duties of the heads of institutions financed from national or local budgets. The heads of non-state educational institutions, on the other hand, are appointed by their founder(s) among specialists with an academic degree of the relevant profile and qualifications.
Article 38 says that the management and operation of educational institutions are based on the principles of democratization, decentralization, independence and self-government. Besides the head, educational institutions can be managed by a general meeting, a board of trustees, scientific, pedagogical and other councils and committees. The rights, duties and procedures for selecting co-management bodies are determined by the Law on education and the charters of educational institutions. This applies to both state and non-state institutions.
Diplomas and degrees: Educational institutions licensed and accredited by the state have the right to issue state-recognized education documents and (or) award qualifications (articles 25, 40). According to article 26 of the Law on education persons who have received education in non-accredited educational institutions in form of individual and self-education have the right to take national examinations in state or municipal schools.
3.3 Supplementary private tutoring
Private tutoring is a widespread phenomenon in Kyrgyzstan, which dates back to the Soviet period (Bagdasarova & Inanov, 2009). Today, according to Abdoubaetova (2019), private tutoring and tutoring centres are important components of Kyrgyz education landscape. The study indicates that tutoring is more popular in public schools than in private ones.
As in many other post-Soviet countries, private tutoring in Kyrgyzstan remains largely unregulated. The Law on Education (article 28) says that persons without pedagogical education and qualification are allowed to engage in teaching activities such as private tutoring and coaching.
No information was found.
Financial operation and quality
No information was found.
No information was found.
This profile has been drafted by Tatiana Mikhaylova.
