Experiment: Entrance examination to the institutes of higher education abrogated in Kirghizia

One of these days, the Kirghiz government approved the educational conception for the period until the year 2010. The main points of the document are 12-year school education and introduction of the National test system.

According to the conception, the 12-year education will allow to reduce the load on schoolchildren through carrying over the most complicated parts of education programme in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and other subjects to higher classes. Moreover, in primary school, more attention will be paid to studying foreign languages and computers. As for the system of the national testing, it will be introduced from that year.

According to the conception, all school-leavers of Kirghizia will enter state institutes of higher education without examination, though after special tests, common for all institutes. Specialists suppose that such form of knowledge test will guarantee equal access to free education for all children, irrespective of their residence.

In Kighiz Ministry of Education and Culture, there is already an independent non-governmental service of testing university entrants. It will choose the most gifted young people who will receive school-leaving certificates. The reformers also expect that the new method will further decrease the corruption during the time of entrance exams.

According to the Minister of Education and Culture Kamila Sharshekeeva, introduction of the united testing system will be carried out under the hard public control. Special bodies are being established for these goals, within the traditional higher education structure. Every college will now have a trustee council, while a special committee of professors and students will distribute money apportioned by international organizations.

Basing on the results of the test, the committee will assign special educational grants. These means will be transmitted to any state university chosen by the entrant. Apropos, the number of the grants will be a kind of rating of Kirghiz institutes of higher education, while the new conception will help Kirghizia to integrate into international system of education.

Yury Razgulaev PRAVDA.Ru Bishkek Kirghizia

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/05/21/41448.html