Distance education to improve quality and access to school education in Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan

Credit

KIX EAP

Project Abstract

This project explored how governments in Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan can adopt and scale inclusive distance education approaches to reduce inequalities and improve access to quality education. Led by Taalim-Forum Public Foundation, the initiative focused on strengthening digital learning systems, teacher capacity, and policy frameworks to support vulnerable learners—especially girls, ethnic minorities, and students in remote areas.

Evidence showed that tailored digital learning solutions, combined with teacher training and stakeholder engagement, improved readiness for distance education and helped address systemic barriers to inclusion..

Project Details

Completed

Implementing Organization(s):

Nomadic Nature Conservation (NCC)

Public Organization Anahita

Taalim-Forum Public Foundation

Implementing Countries:

Kyrgyz Republic,

Mongolia,

Tajikistan

Main Theme:

Teacher professional development

Duration:

31 months

End Date:

Feb 2024

Project Impacts: Policy and Practice

The project led to policy and practice changes across all three countries, with strong evidence uptake by ministries of education and national teacher training institutions.

Kyrgyzstan

The “E-OKU: Digital Tools for Teachers” course was approved by the Republican Institute for Advanced Training of Teachers (RIATT) and integrated into national teacher professional development (TPD) systems.
The Ministry of Education and Science published the project’s analytical report on its website and promoted it via official channels.
The course platform was transferred to Naryn State University for regional scaling and adopted by Online Mugalim School for independent teacher training.

Mongolia

An online course on “e-Skills for Secondary School Teachers” was approved by the General Department of Education and placed on the national education platform Medle.mn.
The course is now part of the “Teacher Training” menu and will be updated annually by the Educational Information and Technology Centre.

Tajikistan

The interactive training program “Teacher’s Digital Skills” was approved for inclusion in the national TPD curriculum by the Republican Institute for Advanced Training of Teachers.
Research findings were presented at the Joint Sector Review Meeting with the Ministry of Education and GPE Secretariat.

Across all three countries, success was driven by early and sustained collaboration with ministries, universities, and civil society organizations. The project emphasized co-production, knowledge mobilization, and peer-to-peer learning exchanges.

“The project helped us understand the real challenges of digital education and gave us tools to address them. It’s not just about technology—it’s about equity, inclusion, and building systems that work for all learners.”

Dr. Jyldyz Doolbekova, Project Lead, Taalim-Forum Public Foundation