Mazhilis deputy Sergei Ponomarev raised the issue of the quality of teacher training and their employment, stating that there are serious problems in the system. According to him, a significant portion of graduates do not work in their specialty or remain unemployed.
“As of November 1, 2024, more than 35 thousand teachers are officially registered as unemployed, another 17.5 thousand work outside this field, and information on the place of work and field of activity of 60 thousand people is missing,” Ponomarev said. He also noted that the employment rate has been declining for several consecutive years, and universities continue to train specialists without considering actual demand.
Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek acknowledged this problem and attributed it to the increase in salaries for pedagogical specialties. However, according to him, despite the growth in demand, educational programs have not been qualitatively updated. “We have five specialized universities, about 52 universities with a license to train teachers, more than 40 universities and their departments. This is where the problem begins,” Nurbek said.
The minister said that the department has been reviewing the content of pedagogical programs for several years, and with the participation of international partners, including universities in Finland, new curricula are being developed and gradually introduced. In addition, the ministry plans to tighten the selection of applicants. “Starting next year, a two-stage admission to pedagogical specialties will be introduced, that is, we complicate admission and increase the average score of the UNT. Also, the standards for certification of pedagogical universities have been completely revised. The only way is to tighten quality and install additional filters at the entrance,” the minister said.
