At the Government session headed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov discussed measures to train pedagogical staff of all levels in the republic.
Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek reported that today in Kazakhstan 49 universities have licenses in pedagogical areas, a total of more than 186 thousand people are trained. Within the framework of realization of instructions of the Head of the state the Standard of accreditation of pedagogical universities and the Concept of development of higher education and science till 2029 are approved.
The number of grants for pedagogical areas has increased several times in recent years and reached 15,923 units. Student scholarships have also been increased. At the same time, the requirements for admission to pedagogical professions have been strengthened.
The work on renewal of educational programs of pedagogical higher educational establishments continues, today 72% of them have been renewed. In general, these and other ongoing changes are aimed at improving the quality of training of pedagogical staff and their adaptation to modern requirements.
Minister of Education Gani Beisembayev said that currently more than 80 thousand students are trained in pedagogical specialties on the basis of colleges. 43,000 of them are state-ordered. Colleges train kindergarten teachers, teachers of primary and supplementary education, as well as art and music.
In order to improve the quality of training and methodological support of personnel, the professional standard "Teacher" has been approved. On its basis, colleges together with employers are updating and implementing 554 educational programs. More than 6,000 teachers have already improved their qualifications.
Taking into account the needs in the republic, the state order for the training of pedagogical personnel increases annually. Since this year, the qualification requirements for colleges to open pedagogical specialties have also been strengthened. This concerns the availability of appropriate licenses and ensuring employment of at least 90% of graduates.
As Head of the Government noted, the success of the educational process directly depends on the professional skills of the teacher. Rapidly changing requirements of modern life dictate the need to adapt approaches to training of pedagogical staff to them.
"Today we lack about 5 thousand teachers. At the same time, universities annually graduate about 50 thousand specialists. However, many of them do not go into the profession. There are plenty of reasons for this," Alikhan Smailov pointed out.
At the same time, much is being done in the republic to raise the prestige and status of a teacher, including in legislative terms.
"We are increasing teachers' salaries, removing inappropriate workload and reporting. A set of measures has been taken to attract talented young people to pedagogy. Requirements for admission to pedagogical universities have been raised. And it is right," Prime Minister said.
According to him, the higher the passing score in teacher training institutions, the more opportunity to choose the strongest applicants. If 5 years ago in the Republic of Kazakhstan applicants with 50 points came to these specialties, today the average score at admission is 111.
"However, the very complexity of the process of teaching in schools, the mass of requirements and the opinion formed in society that "everything is the teacher's fault", has led to a decrease in the attractiveness of this profession. Therefore, the state will continue to support young people in their desire to get a teaching profession," Head of the Government emphasized.
Alikhan Smailov reminded that the scholarships for students of pedagogical specialties were increased 2.5 times. Every fourth applicant for the state grant this year, as well as more than 1.5 thousand holders of "Altyn Belgi" wanted to become teachers.
"Now we must improve the quality of education and revise teaching methods for students of pedagogical universities and colleges. We need to modernize curricula, including the competencies in demand. We need to take into account all modern realities," Prime Minister listed.
Taking into account the above, Prime Minister instructed to ensure the formation of the state order for the training of teachers on the basis of determining the forecast need in educational organizations.
"It is necessary to develop and adopt appropriate regional programs to reduce the shortage of personnel in the field until February 15," he said.
Along with this, it is necessary to work out effective mechanisms for young teachers to enter the profession, to create systems of mentoring and professional development of teachers on new competencies.
"It is necessary to ensure continuity of the system of pedagogical education, continuity of the content of training programs from kindergarten to university. Moreover, it is necessary to strengthen the work on providing methodological support to organizations of preschool, secondary, technical and vocational education," Alikhan Smailov concluded.