Why Kazakhstan Has Too Many Teacher Graduates and Too Few Qualified Ones

Mazhilis deputy Sergei Ponomarev raised the issue of the quality of teacher training and employment, saying the system faces serious problems, Orda.kz reports.

According to him, a significant share of graduates either do not work in the profession or remain unemployed.

More than 35,000 teachers, as of November 1, 2024, are officially registered as unemployed, another 17,500 work outside the sector, and for 60,000 there is no information about where and in what field they are employed.Ponomarev said.

He also noted that the employment rate has been declining for several years, while universities continue to produce specialists without taking real demand into account.

In response, Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek acknowledged the problem and said it was linked to higher salaries in teaching professions. According to him, demand for these programs has grown, but the educational programs themselves did not have time to improve in quality.

We have five specialized universities, while about 52 universities hold licenses to train teachers, and more than 40 have their own departments. This is where our problem begins.Nurbek said.

He added that the ministry has been reviewing the content of teacher-training programs for several years, and that new curricula have already been developed with the participation of international partners, including Finnish universities, and are now being introduced gradually.

Nurbek also said the ministry plans to tighten the selection of applicants.

Starting next year, a two-stage admission process for teaching specialties will begin. We will make admission more difficult and raise the average UNT score required. The certification standards for teacher-training universities and for those that offer these specialties are also being fully revised, and in fact have already been revised. The only way forward is to tighten quality and introduce additional filters at the entry stage.the minister said.

He added that the main focus now is on improving the quality of training, both at the admission stage and during the course of study.

Original author: Alina Elgeldina

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