Roundtable «Transforming Education in Central Asia»

On 6 May 2022, Abai University hosted a roundtable on «Transformation of Education in Central Asia», organised jointly with the World Bank Office in Almaty to commemorate 30 years of WB partnership with the countries of Central Asia.

The event was attended by international and regional education experts from the region and other countries as well as 100 students of Honors College of Abai University.

The event was moderated by Susanna Hayrapetyan, World Bank Program Manager for Human Capital Development in Central Asia.

Darhan Bilyalov, Rector of the University, opened the meeting. Noting the importance of education transformation in Central Asia and the experience of Kazakhstan`s leading teacher training institution in restoring education systems after the pandemic and implementing educational innovations, as well as the challenges faced by the industry today, he stressed that cooperation, exchange of necessary information, mutual support and all kinds of assistance from national and foreign institutions are now more necessary than ever.

Harry Patrinos, Head of WB Global Education Practice, in his presentation titled «Education transformation in Central Asia: global perspectives» gave details on the research on this topic, the impact of the pandemic on economies and education in the region and globally. 

The roundtable participants discussed international experience in rebuilding education systems after the pandemic and educational innovations to help this process, as well as sector-specific challenges faced by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and ways to address pressing issues. 

Experts from Central Asian countries, heads of education authorities and institutions of the region made presentations and shared experiences on opportunities for transforming education systems in the post-pandemic social and economic recovery period. 

The event was well attended and useful for all participants. 

Note:

It should be noted: although schools and universities in Central Asia and around the world have resumed their work in face-to-face format since the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of the past two years will leave a mark on an entire generation. According to expert estimates, «educational poverty» (a concept that refers to the inability of children to read and understand simple texts by the age of 10) worldwide has risen from 53% before the pandemic to around 70% today. In addition, 24 million children are at risk of dropping out of school for good.