Education
Overview
107,543 students graduated from Kazakhstani high schools and completed United National Testing (ENT) in 2010. Students who successfully passed (50 points out of 100) are then allowed to apply to local universities and other higher educational institutions. ENT is not obligatory for those students applying for foreign universities on a self-funded basis. Those students that apply for state-funded scholarships for studying abroad are required to pass the ENT. Students from Kazakhstan studying abroad can be classified into two groups:
- Students whose parents can afford to finance their education abroad. The majority of these students live in the largest cities of Almaty and Astana.
- Students that study abroad through different grant and scholarship programs. The majority of these are students who have obtained scholarships provided by Bolashak, a state funded educational grant program.
Local Higher Education Institutions
Higher education institutions in Kazakhstan include universities, academies and technical institutions. In 2009, there were approximately 150 higher educational facilities in Kazakhstan including 53 public facilities. There were approximately 620,442 students studying in higher educational institutions in Kazakhstan – 21.1% studying through state grants, 1.6% through State Educational Order, and 77.3% are self-funded students.
Higher secondary education in Kazakhstan is represented by general secondary schools, training schools and lyceums that provide general secondary and initial vocational education, and by colleges providing secondary vocational education. There are 494 private and state-funded colleges in Kazakhstan that offer technical/intermediate vocational programs. The number of students studying in private and state colleges is 490,997.
Opportunities
Bolashak Scholarship
Bolashak is a national government scholarship established in 1993. It aims to assist talented young people in obtaining quality education abroad. The scholarship covers all costs related to education including tuition and fees, costs of travel, and a living stipend. The program requires all Bolashak recipients to return to Kazakhstan upon completing their education and work for five years in Kazakhstan. Currently, there are more than about 3,000 scholarship recipients studying abroad.
The most popular countries for study are the UK, U.S., and Russia. The total number of Bolashak scholarships awarded for the period of 1994-2010 is 7,356. Of this total, the number of students studying in the Top 3 countries is as follows:
- 2,666 students in the UK,
- 2,135 students in the U.S., and
- 676 students in Russia.
Bolashak Statistics
Bolashak scholarships awarded in 2005 – 2010 by educational programs | ||||||||||||||
Programs |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
Total | |||||||
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% | |
Undergra-duate |
1243 |
69 |
441 |
57 |
97 |
36 |
636 |
49 |
419 |
41 |
483 |
34 |
3319 |
50 |
Graduate |
478 |
27 |
299 |
38 |
138 |
52 |
607 |
46 |
561 |
56 |
754 |
53 |
2837 |
43 |
Doctorate |
55 |
3 |
19 |
2 |
11 |
4 |
15 |
1 |
11 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
121 |
2 |
Research Fellowship |
28 |
2 |
12 |
1 |
138 |
10 |
178 |
3 | ||||||
Bolashak scholarships awarded in 2005 – 2010 by education | ||||||||||||||
Type of education |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
Total | |||||||
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% | |
Social Sciences* |
856 |
48 |
265 |
34 |
181 |
68 |
632 |
48 |
277 |
28 |
610 |
43 |
2821 |
43 |
Medical Sciences |
128 |
7 |
47 |
6 |
25 |
9 |
55 |
4 |
21 |
2 |
45 |
3 |
321 |
5 |
Technical Sciences** |
812 |
45 |
466 |
60 |
61 |
23 |
624 |
48 |
715 |
71 |
751 |
54 |
3429 |
52 |
* Social Sciences include business administration, economics, arts, history, law, etc
** Technical Sciences include engineering, natural sciences, computing, etc.
