Education in Kyrgyzstan
Encyclopedia
Compulsory education
Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all persons.-Antiquity to Medieval Era:Although Plato's The Republic is credited with having popularized the concept of compulsory education in Western intellectual thought, every parent in Judea since Moses's Covenant with...
for nine years, between ages seven and 15. Following four years of primary and five years of lower secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, the system offers two years of upper secondary school, specialized secondary school, or vocational
Vocational school
A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...
/technical school
Technical school
Technical school is a general term used for two-year college which provide mostly employment-preparation skills for trained labor, such as welding, culinary arts and office management.-Associations supporting technical schools:...
. In 2001 some 89 percent of the relevant age-group was enrolled in the compulsory program, but this figure has decreased in the early 2000s. In 2005 some 49 institutions of higher learning were operating, most notably Kyrgyz State University, Kyrgyz Technical University
Kyrgyz Technical University
The Kyrgyz State Technical University named after Iskhak Razzakov is a university in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan...
, Medical Institute, Osh State University
Medical Institute, Osh State University
The Medical Institute, Osh State University is a public medical institute located in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. It was opened in 1992 as of the reorganisation of the Osh State Pedagogical Institute into Osh State University....
http://www.oshmed.com Asian Medical Institute, Kyrgyzstan
Asian Medical Institute, Kyrgyzstan
The Asian Medical Institute, located in Kant, Kyrgyzstan, trains specialists in the medical sphere.-Organisation:Currently, the Asian Medical Institute has students from over 10 countries including India, Russia, Germany, Pakistan, and Nigeria...
http://ami.edu.kg and Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University. The majority of primary and secondary schools teach in Kyrgyz
Kyrgyz language
Kyrgyz or Kirgiz, also Kirghiz, Kyrghiz, Qyrghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...
, but the language of instruction in the higher institutions is Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. Budget cuts that have reduced teacher salaries and equipment availability are reflected disproportionately in reduced numbers of female students. In 2003 some 4.5 percent of gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
was spent on education. In 2004 the literacy rate in Kyrgyzstan was 98.7 percent.