University accreditation system to improve quality of Kazakh higher education

"Presently, leading Kazakhstani universities are aimed at climbing up the world rankings and in order to do it, the work on joining the international university organizations and on integration into the European Research Area is held," M. Orunkhanov said.

Besides, he noted that the universities of Kazakhstan were aimed at fulfillment of tasks which were set before the education systems of the leading countries of the world. The participation of the delegation of Kazakhstan in the work of the Bologna Process Ministerial Conference in Bucharest will also give an impetus for further development of Kazakhstan's higher education.

According to the Deputy Minister, Kazakhstan is currently ready for establishment of independent accreditation system. The National Accreditation Council under the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan was established. "The institutions meeting the requirements of the national and international laws will make big contributions to ensuring the quality of higher education of Kazakhstan," M. Orukhanov emphasized.

It is worth noting that the universities of Kazakhstan are interested in receiving objective assessment of their activity from acknowledged accreditation agencies working in accordance with the Bologna criteria.

"We set as a priority a task on further joining the European system of quality assurance of higher education by these agencies. I believe that the accreditation agencies of Kazakhstan will be soon included into the European Register," the Deputy Minister added.