Comparative and International Higher Education Policy Specialist; Focus on Central Asia
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 …
Continue reading Going, going, gone: Kazakhstan’s Innovation University is shut down
On the back of recent news that a number of universities in Kazakhstan are to be reorganized and some merged, rumours are now spreading that at least one of the proposed mergers will not in fact go ahead. According to Dilara Aronova, a journalist for northern Kazakhstan's regional news outlet Kostanay News, social media has …
Continue reading To merge, or not to merge… But is that the question in Kazakhstan?
The Kazakh government has typically paid a very active role in the organization and governance of higher education in the country. Over time the particular policy instruments du jour have changed depending on the main aim being pursued by the state. Of late, there has been an uptick in the number of university mergers as well as the …
The Academy of Sciences in Turkmenistan is facing major budget cuts that will see a third of its personnel lose their jobs and structural changes that may see the Academy disappear from the science scene in the country. As an institution, the Academy of Sciences brings together researchers from across disciplines, historically separating them from …
The merger of two universities in Kazakhstan represents an important moment for the governance of its higher education system.
Emma Sabzalieva 