On December 18, 2023, Taalim-Forum presented the results of the research conducted in 2021-2023 under the project “Distance Education to Improve Quality and Access to School Education in Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan” at the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic (MES KR).
The presentation was attended by two deputy ministers in charge of school education and digital development, heads and staff of the departments of digitalization, school management, strategic planning, the Center for Digital Education, the subordinate institutions under the MES KR, experts, and project consultants.
The project team presented an analysis of strategies for organizing distance education during quarantine in schools in Kyrgyzstan during the pandemic, and the main barriers to ensuring equal access to quality education in the context of gender, place of residence, and ethnic minorities. The data analysis was based on 24 focus group discussions, 10 participant observations, 47 interviews with managers, local government representatives, experts, teachers, students, and parents, and a questionnaire survey that covered 896 teachers, and 3,577 students in 180 schools in 7 provinces of Kyrgyzstan.
The participants were very interested in the obtained indexes of teachers' and students' readiness for teaching and learning in the digital educational environment. Despite the high index of readiness, teachers and students preferred traditional learning, which indicates that many challenges remain unresolved regarding the effective use of online resources and access to education for vulnerable groups.
Among the new forms of vulnerability, the digital divide was highlighted, which can be seen in unequal access to the Internet, technical devices, educational resources, and the lack of digital skills of teachers, students, and parents in remote and socially vulnerable areas of the country. Gender stereotypes and barriers continue to affect the education of boys and girls, with implications for future career choices and life chances.
Deputy Minister Lira Samykbaeva expressed her gratitude to Taalim-Forum for the presented analysis and emphasized the timeliness of the study and the fact that the findings and recommendations will be taken into account in the development of further steps in the digital transformation of school education and the development of the digital educational environment in Kyrgyzstan.
