Rolling back privatization in Kazakhstan’s higher education?

Cat on the road (to privatization?) Kazakhstan has energetically pursued privatization ever since emerging from the Soviet era some three decades ago. In higher education, this trend towards privatization has long been evident. Marketization has long been a feature of higher education in Kazakhstan. For example, the adoption of the 1995 law ‘On Privatization’, which …

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Join me live on Oct 1: Surviving a crisis: Resilience, adaptation, and transformation in higher education after the collapse of the Soviet Union

Updated Dec 2020: You can now watch a video of the seminar. I'm giving a seminar on October 1 (9am Eastern, 2pm UK, 6pm Dushanbe) about my recently completed doctoral work and would love to see you there. It's being hosted by the Centre for Global Higher Education, an international research centre with hubs at …

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Back to school in Central Asia

Covid-cat is ready to go back to school (if it's open) The impending start of the 2020/21 school year is presenting challenges for teachers, students, parents, and governments around the world. Although some countries have managed to come up with a plan, many are still fumbling in the COVID-19 induced darkness, even with September just …

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Watch/listen again: My SCOLAR Talk on higher education in Central Asia

Screenshot from my SCOLAR Talk on August 13, 2020 with Olesya Dovgalyuk Thanks to everyone who tuned in live last week to watch my SCOLAR Talk with the talented Olesya Dovgalyuk. We had a great time chatting about everything from Ibn Sino (Avicenna) to the 400+% growth in the higher education system in contemporary Kyrgyzstan! …

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Kazakhstan publishes its back-to-school plan

While many countries are still pondering what to do with students come the new school year in September 2020, Kazakhstan - currently under a state imposed quarantine for a second time - has announced its back-to-school plan. If you're ready, open your laptop... most students in Kazakhstan aren't yet leaving their house to go back …

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Covid-19 and education in Central Asia

With the world's attention drawn to the coronavirus pandemic for the foreseeable future, this week's post looks at the current impact of Covid-19 on education in Central Asia. First, a few shout outs to others reporting on the spread of coronavirus in the region. For general updates on what's happening across Central Asia, check out …

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Going, going, gone: Kazakhstan’s Innovation University is shut down

A swathe of regulations, rankings, mergers, acquistions, and threats of closure for poor quality universities typify the Kazakh government's drive in recent years to increase and assure quality in its higher education system. The latest target of the quality movement is Innovation University, which had its operating licence removed in late January 2020 after two …

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