The International Education Services team in Wider Europe would like to present you with the latest Covid-19 developments in the respective countries. 

In this update we will give you an overview of the situation with Covid-19 in the Wider Europe countries, the pandemic effect on education system, economy and other key areas of countries' development. 

Here are the changes at a glance: 

Kazakhstan – lockdown continues, Covid-19 cases high, education adapts to new environment, state scholarship runs, new AY starts in September online

Russia - lockdown over, UK visa centres open, new AY starts in the traditional way

Turkey - public places are open, cases rising, public debate on opening schools, Turkish university placement period to end soon

Uzbekistan - rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, "second wave" of virus is expected with worry, lockdown/quarantine measures remain in place

Kazakhstan

Update 10 August 2020

Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency to curb the spread of the Covid-19 infection on 16 March through 11 May after the World Health Organization defined the spread of the coronavirus as a pandemic.

The state of emergency in Kazakhstan was lifted on 11 May 2020 with the quarantine regime persisting in nearly all regions. The decision to soften or completely take down the current restrictive measures will be laid upon city/regional administrations.

After reopening, the number of Covid-19 cases in the country has risen sharply, which led the Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to respond to the situation by instructing the Ministry of Public Healthcare and other relevant governmental offices to develop a new state plan to fight the virus spread. Following the order, the Ministry of Public Healthcare proposed a new plan put the country under lockdown starting 5 July.

It is expected that the new lockdown regime will be over on 16 August, however looking at the history of the lockdown we might guess that it would be prolonged till September and revised depending on the general picture with Covid-19 in the country.

At the moment, all enclosed public places are closed and are waiting for the government’s instructions for reopening. Despite this, it is not anticipated that public places (shopping malls, theatres, museums, etc.) will open any time soon and that people will return to their normal way of living.

School and universities reopening

By the end of quarantine regime, educational institutions remained closed. Kazakhstan students at all stages of their education finished the 2019/20 academic year online.

Studies in Kazakhstan for the 2020/21 academic year will kick off distantly utilising local and international online learning and collaboration platforms.

Students of schools, TVET institutions and universities will be starting their study journey through online platforms, said the Minister of Education and Science Askhat Aimagambetov at a briefing with local TV channels at the end of July. The minister also noted that distance learning will be a subject for revision depending on the evolution of Covid-19 in Kazakhstan, i.e. should the number of infections decrease and the situation stabilise, the second term of studies at all levels will slowly switch to offline classroom learning. This news was welcomed by the local community supportively as the largest percentage of people of Kazakhstan are concerned about the health and wellbeing of their children while studying.

To get the maximum results out of online education and to prepare teaching staff for online delivery, the Ministry of Education and Science Kazakhstan started conducting free online courses for teachers on running and navigating online classes.

In addition, educational institutions will be organising virtual meetings with parents and students to help them understand how the new education model will work and how institutions will be supporting them in this mode of studies.

Examinations

All admissions exams to Kazakh education institutions and for local programmes have been finalised and government grants are now being distributed.

Student financial support

Bolashaq Presidential Scholarship Progrmme is continuing its work and aims to fund around 550 students who are going to study abroad in 2020/21. The application process for potential scholars has commenced and it will be open till 31 October 2020.

The new list of approved institutions has been approved: 18 UK universities entered the list. The new list incorporates only 138 institutions, down from over 500 institutions in 2019. Only those universities that are in top 100 universities in two or more following rankings QS World University Rankings, Academic Ranking of World Universities, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, The U. S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking made it to the list.

The list of Bolashaq approved UK HEIs in 2020:

1. University of Birmingham
2. University of Bristol
3. Imperial College London
4. University of Cambridge
5. King’s College London
6. University of Liverpool
7. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
8. London School of Economics and Political Science
9. Queen Mary, University of London
10. University of Manchester
11. University of Nottingham
12. University of Oxford
13. University of Southampton
14. University of Glasgow
15. University of Sheffield
16. University College London
17. University of Warwick
18. University of Edinburgh

The list of approved institution is subject to revision for the 2021/22 academic year. However, the quality of change will depend on how the efficiency of the current list. Bolashaq encourages all institutions wishing to propose their ideas and views on how the list can be most-beneficial for students and education providers.

International Education Services organised a meeting with Bolashaq President Ainur Karbozova on 4 August 2020. For your information we have attached a pdf document with slides from the event.  

Competitors

Competing markets have stopped running face-to-face activities and are cancelling their autumn recruitment fairs.

Talking generally, competing markets are currently exploring all digital opportunities and trying to digitalise their offer through webinars, workshops and other virtual activities.

Given the current economic situation and how different countries are tackling the situation with Covid-19, the majority of students are thinking of switching to study destinations that would allow them to save costs, i.e. Europe (Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Germany, etc.) and East Asia (China, South Korea, etc.) or are thinking of enrolling onto partnered education programmes offered at local well-known and quality education institutions.

General advice to the UK sector would be to actively engage with the student sector and to carefully think of their internationalisation strategy of finding a local partner to deliver their courses through various types of TNE partnerships.

Economic situation

In the period of state of emergency, Kazakhstan has injected a total of 6 trillion tenge (£11.7 billion) to support its citizens, businesses and SMEs.

Kazakhstan set up a special committee, which will include a number of prominent civil servants and representatives of semi-state agencies and organisations, to help the economy recover from Covid-19 effective 27 May 2020.

According to the Ministry of National Economy, by the end of 2020 Kazakhstan’s economy is to reach its lowest levels in development with -0.9% underperformance caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and continued restrictive measures in and outside the country.

The country is trying to revive its economy following the consequences of the fallen oil prices, closed businesses and other Covid-19 related restrictive measures.

Contact

For more information and insights about the Covid-19 situation in Kazakhstan, please contact Zhanaidar Duzgenbay, International Education Services Coordinator, Kazakhstan at Zhanaidar.Duzgenbay@britishcouncil.org.

Russia

Update 10 August 2020

Overview:

The lockdown is now over in Russia (with the final phase in some regions). Overall restrictions have been lifted and all businesses have been resumed over the country. Internal travel is operating, regular international flights are resumed with three countries: UK, Turkey, and Tanzania. There are plans to resume flights with Montenegro and Switzerland in August. Citizens continue to be required to wear face masks, which will be necessary for several months. IELTS centers are open.

UK visa centres are now open all over Russia (other visa centres are working on passports return only, or for selected categories of citizens). International flights with the UK are available for all the purposes.

Covid-19 effect on schools and universities:

Schools: A new academic year will start on the 1st of September in schools in a traditional format - F2F, however digital platforms will be developed further. Mass events are prohibited at schools until 2021.

Higher Education:

Universities hope to commence the 2020-21 academic year with face-to-face learning, implementing safety measures for Covid-19.

92% of universities are planning to start the academic year on the 1st of September F2F with a mask regime required, and 8% of universities from 14th of September. If any concerns exist in some regions, a delay for starting the new academic year in universities may be up to two months. It will be decided on the regional level.

International students studying in Russia will have to self-isolate for two weeks upon their entering the country and pass the Covid-19 test. From 2020/2021 academic year it has become easier for international students studying in Russia to be employed during their studies.

Education agents have reported no more than 15 per cent cancellations of academic programmes abroad among Russian students for the 2020-21 academic year, and the UK remains the first choice for students. An increased demand for education abroad is also predicted for 2021-22.  

Blended learning development:

Online education is planned to be delivered all over Russia by 2024. Distance education in Russia implemented due to Covid-19 has been highly effective. Russia has managed to create a unique multi-media platform that unites traditional school-books, digital education and educational TV project.

Blended learning has proved to be a new trend in education that should be embedded in a new education strategy. Many universities are planning to continue blended learning, exploring replacing face-to-face lectures with online courses when further developed in five years. Russian MOOC platforms will also be developed further. 

Many leading universities are planning to increase independent online course production, with the intention of making them partly open to the public free of charge.

New educational programme & opportunities for parterships:

“Strategic academic leadership programme” is a new Russian reform in education that will replace Project 5-100 starting from 2020. It is based on the importance of science and higher education for achieving national development goals, which includes becoming a top five world economy by developing innovative businesses. The reform will involve over 100 leading universities in over 50 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Thus it creates opportunities for joint research as well as TNE. Another fundamental aim of the reform is for leading Russian universities to achieve high standings in established educational rankings (THE, QS etc.).

By 2024 it is planned to implement the national project "Education". The aim is that Russian education should become more attractive for foreigners. In the next few years, thanks to the Federal project "Export of education", the number of foreign students in domestic universities is hoped to double to 425 thousand people. A total of 784.5 billion rubles were allocated for the national project. The project aims to ensure the global competitiveness of Russian education, as well as Russia's entry into the top ten countries for the quality of general education.

Economy:

Russia’s GDP expanded by 1.3 per cent in 2019 and 1.8 per cent in Q1 of 2020, showing more or less stable numbers during the last three years. The lockdown period halted Russia’s economy, driving the government to introduce economic support, such as lowering mortgage rates and providing additional payments for non-working citizens and families with children. The measures taken by the government is estimated to amount to over 2 trillion Russian rubles (£22.8 billion). Covid-19 has however weakened the Russian economy, Central Bank predicts a drop of 4.2 – 4.5 per cent in GDP, mainly due to the significant reduction of exports. Stabilisation of the economy is predicted due to large national projects and trade recovery.

Fitch agency confirms Russia's BBB rating with stable prediction (8 August 2020).

Contact

For more information and insights about the Covid-19 situation in Russia, please feel free to contact Daria Lavrentieva lavrentieva@ecmcentre.com and Elizaveta Utolina Elizaveta.Utolina@britishcouncil.org.

Turkey

Update 10 August 2020

All public places are open, with masks required and temperature checks being carried out at entrances.

Cases have risen over the public holiday, although this is not considered a major concern.

The majority of international flights have resumed yet most European Union destinations are closed to Turkish citizens. Passengers from Afghanistan or Bangladesh are not allowed to enter Turkey. UK flights resumed in July.

Economic outlook in Turkey

According to World Bank growth is projected at 0.5 per cent in 2020, over three percentage lower than the pre-Covid-19 estimate. Growth is expected to be supported by a strong government stimulus.

Turkey and the UK are in discussions to sign a free trade agreement for the post-Brexit era.  The trade deal covers manufactured goods, agriculture, and services, negotiations are ongoing. More information can be found here.

Turkish Lira has been falling against foreign currencies over the last two years. The GBP-Turkish lira exchange rate increased by 20 per cent since January 2020. The recent currency fluctuation may discourage students from the lower middle-classes, however the upper-middle class and above are historically not affected by foreign exchange changes.

School and university closures

Over 26 million students are affected by Covid-19, comprising of 18 million school students and 8 million higher education students.

Schools

Schools will be open as of 31 August with some private schools starting mid-August.

Parents are sceptical about schools’ opening. Middle-class parents are awaiting further announcements to decide whether to register their kids with a public school if teaching will be online again.

Ministry of National Education (MoNE) is running a summer school in English through TV.

Transition to High Schools Exam Results were announced. Science, Social Science and Anatolian High Schools were filled with 100 per cent capacity.

The number of students that were placed in Vocational and Technical Anatolian High Schools increased by 40 per cent compared to 2019.

Universities

University selection started on 6 August and is due to end on 14 August. The results will be announced thereafter.

Council of Higher Education (CoHE) organised a virtual fair, Study in Turkey to attract international students in July. More information can be found on the following links: https://virtualfair-yok.gov.tr/ and http://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/.

CoHE has published a guide on normalisation in light of Covid-19. The guide includes regulations and advice about distance learning, applied education, assessments, international students, meetings, congresses and exchange programmes.

International Student Mobility

The Study UK pre-departure briefing will be held for students travelling to the UK for the new academic year on 26 August.

UKVI

We will support UKVI with their online webinar, organised for agents to give updates on the current situation and answer visa questions. This event will take place late August.

Contact

Direct marketing services, including digital promotion, remain available to help UK institutions engage with students and retain a presence in Turkey.

For more information, please contact Semra Yalcin Dogan at Semra.Yalcin@britishcouncil.org.tr 

Uzbekistan

Update 10 August 2020

Summary

• There is no sign of any flattening of the infection curve and across the country the number of reported cases continues to rise. The risk of a “second wave”, overwhelming medical services, remains. 
• Lockdown/quarantine measures remain in place until 15 August. These include the suspension of most educational activities (schools, colleges, universities etc.)
• In addition to the nationwide lockdown measures, the country is divided into red, yellow, and green zones, with different levels of restrictions in each.

Education Market

2019/2020 Academic year

School students’ final exams have been moved to online testing and completed by June 1, 2020.

University and TVET final exams held remotely until 1 July:

• Bachelor graduates will take state exams in the form of online tests.
• State certification for graduate masters is organized in the form of online presentations.

2020/2021 Academic Year

• In Uzbekistan this year, entrance exams to state universities will start on September 2 and will last 14 days. This was announced by the Deputy Director of the State Testing Centre last week.
• Taking into account the fact that closed premises do not meet epidemiological requirements and do not have sufficient capacity to conduct exams at the optimal time, while maintaining social distance, an order was given to organize test trials in the central stadiums of Tashkent and regions. Provided that exams are held 2 times a day (during cool hours of the day), the entire testing process can be completed in approximately 12-14 days
• This year 162,364 bachelor's and 10,425 master's degrees have been allocated for study at the country's universities. 91 higher educational institutions accepted documents for admission to bachelor's degree from 1,484,000 applicants, which is 39 percent more than last year. 10.6 people apply for one student place. 78,720 people applied for admission to the masters in 72 educational institutions, which is 3 times more than last year. https://kun.uz/ru/news/2020/08/06/v-uzbekistane-vstupitelnyye-ekzameny-v-vuzy-proydut-v-dve-smeny-na-otkrytyx-stadionax
• New Decree of the President dated 13 June 2020 introducing unified school graduation and University entrance exams from 2021/2022
• Earlier this year, the STC published for discussion a draft presidential decree that provides for the introduction of a system of admission to universities based on the results of school graduation tests, without conducting additional exams.
• According to the project, it is proposed to introduce a unified exam from the academic year 2021/2022. Testing is planned in April-May 2021.

General situation in country and policy level developments

Economic picture:

• The Central Bank of Uzbekistan expects GDP growth to decline to 1.5 to 2.5% in 2020 (against 5.2 to 5.5% projected earlier). According to the regulator’s forecasts, the most significant slowdown in growth is forecast in tourism, hotel industry and international transport. The Central Bank also forecasts a reduction in the amount of remittances to Uzbekistan by 30 to 35 % in 2020, which may hold back private consumption growth. Exports will likely weaken amid supply side disruptions, although higher gold and uranium prices should soften the downturn.
• In the June issue of the World Bank World Economic Outlook report, data on world GDP growth for 2020-2021 were announced. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) is projected to lead to a 1.7% decline in the Central Asian economy.
• It is notable that among the 24 states in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to the World Bank Uzbekistan will become the only country where economic growth of 1.5% is currently expected in 2020. An 6.6% increase in Uzbekistan’s economy is expected in 2021. http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/344691588788182868/Global-Economic-Prospects-June-2020-Regional-Overview-ECA.pdf
• Unemployment in Uzbekistan now stands at nearly 2 million. In the first quarter of the year, the unemployment level had stood at 1.35 million. The government anticipates unemployment to triple. According to government figures 45,000 businesses in retail and wholesale, 13,000 cafes and restaurants, 19,000 service companies, and 7,000 transport companies have been closed as a result of Covid-19
• A significant proportion of the population will be immediately impacted by a decline in remittances as a result of the economic shocks in Russia (due to oil price and Covid-19) and Kazakhstan. Already, 140,000 migrant workers have returned to Uzbekistan and the Central Bank has noted that remittances were down 50% in April year on year. Remittances were worth approximately USD 4.25 billion to the Uzbek economy in 2019 and constitute a critical source of income for families in provincial areas. 

Reforms: scale, focus, impact 

• Uzbekistan - a young and fast-growing population. Around 38 percent of a population of 34m are under 19. The population has doubled since 1980 (https://www.stat.uz/ru/2-uncategorised/5222-o-zbekiston-aholisi-ru).
• National development strategy 2017-2021: prioritises economic development and strong focus on capacity development and education
• New 2030 HE and Public Education development concepts published in 2019: relevance of education to meet country’s ambition, internationalisation and standards (PISA)
• TNE and internationalization of HE is prioritized to widen access and ensure quality (dedicated Decrees being issued to offer preferential terms, 35 new Higher Education Institutions set up with 18 being international universities affiliates)
• 2020 - the Year of Science, Education and Digital - widespread adoption of digital technologies at all stages of the education system, raising the level of digital knowledge necessary for the modern economy, improving the education infrastructure, and opening, by 2022, digital knowledge training centres in all regions of the republic as part of the Five Initiatives project

Investments: GoU, international agencies, private 

• El Yurt Umidi Foundation under the Agency for the Development of Public service under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan - professional development of academic staff, 90 scholarships to UK last year
• Public Education/Presidential schools development funding: Presidential schools being set up/Cambridge International – paid by GoU
• Public Education ministry/private investors – setting up International University for Education
• Private businesses have set up first private entrepreneurship university (TEAM) with LSBU (London South Bank), outcome of Creative Spark project in Uzbekistan
• WB, UNESCO, Swiss, KFW/GIZ considering Covid-response funds which may include education, e.g. (the World Bank approved $200 million in additional development policy financing to support Uzbekistan’s ongoing health, social, and economic policy responses to the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic - http://projects.worldbank.org/P173948?lang=en).

Opportunities:

• Main area to highlight is GoU efforts to support education and welcome international Higher Education Institutions
• Uzbekistan is a growing market for UK English language programmes: over the last two years the number of language centers and courses and foundation programmes with UK partners increased, short-term summer courses, foundation courses, and ELT online courses are all popular in the market.
• National Higher Education Reform Decree dated July 2017 requires all universities to teach at least one programme in English by 2020 thus creating demand for content and TNE partnership.
• TNE, products and services (WIUT, International University of Education, TEAM; Teaching materials - Macmillan, OUP, Pearson. System to System knowledge sharing and consultancies -e.g. Quality Assurance)
• In 2020, over one million school leavers are expected to apply for 143,000 places available in HE sector (https://www.gov.uz/ru/news/view?id=27669). Thus only 14% of young people can get domestic HE. The GoU is gradually increasing the annual intake to 25%, however there is still a big demand for HE. Thus 164,306 (15.4%) school leavers expressed their interest in TNE in 2019.

Contact

For more information and insights about the Covid-19 situation in Uzbekistan, please contact Shukhrat Amanov, Country Projects Manager, British Council Uzbekistan at Shukhrat.amanov@britishcouncil.org  

Previous Covid-19 update is available here