British Council International Education Services team in Wider Europe (Kazakhstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan) would like you to present with the latest Covid-19 developments in the respective countries. 

In our second update we would like to talk about state response to Covid-19 pandemic, education system changes, economic situation asnd our outlook for student mobility in 2020. 

Here are the changes in all three countries at a glance: 

Kazakhstan - state of emergency over, online learning continues, HE graduates to present their theses online, no change in dates of matriculation test

Turkey - schools and higher education institutions are closed until the next academic year, normalisation is due to start gradually after Ramadan Holiday in June

Uzbekistan - new quarantine regime, remote final assessmnets for school, TVET and HE institutions

 

KAZAKHSTAN 

Update 26 May 2020

Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency to curb the spread of the Covid-19 infection on March 16 through May 11 after the World Health Organization defined the spread of the coronavirus as a pandemic. A regime of quarantine has been introduced in many regions and cities of Kazakhstan.

Domestic flights in Kazakhstan resumed on 1 May 2020 and starting from 11 May, citizens are not obliged to provide Covid-19 test results to catch an in-country flight. The decision on opening the borders for international citizens will be made according to the global situation with Covid-19 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. 

School and universities closure

Schools have been closed since the midst of March and the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan has decided to finish this academic year through distance learning. Kazakhstan’s schools will reopen starting from 1 September, i.e. the 2020/21 academic year. 

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education and Science aims to make distance learning for all levels of education (pre-school, school, vocational and higher education) an official form of education in the future. The new legislation is currently being contemplated at and will be developed over the course of this year. 

The “Farewell Bell”, which includes the formal gathering for school leavers and awarding of certificate of secondary education completion, will be held following strict sanitary norms and regulations in the open air with limited number of people.

Universities and TVET organisations will also be finalising this academic year online. The awarding ceremony of diplomas, as any other mass events in Kazakhstan till early July, is be cancelled. 

Examinations

School students’ final exams have been cancelled for 2019/20 academic year – the students final score will be determined according to mid-term exam results and students’ individual performance throughout the year.

Kazakhstan’s state matriculation test, which is called Unified National Testing (UNT), will be held unchangingly starting from 20 June 2020 in 168 locations. To ensure the health and safety of students, the exam venues will be sticking to strict sanitary norms and guidelines. 

University and TVET final exams will be held remotely using a proctoring system which will verify students’ identity and ensure that students are not cheating in their exams. 

University and TVET graduates will be presenting their theses to a committee of assessors in the form of an online presentation. 

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 scholarship scheme has recently announced its new rules which includes new requirements for applicants and changes in the selection procedure. The main changes are: 

  • Only applicants with study offers are eligible to apply for funding
  • Cancelled all language prep courses (exempting rural students)
  • Applicants must have a language certificate (IELTS 6.5)
  • Reduced number of competitive rounds

You can read more at https://bolashak.gov.kz/en/2019-07-04-06-59-31/novosti/2535-utverzhdeny-novye-pravila-otbora-pretendentov-dlya-prisuzhdeniya-mezhdunarodnoj-stipendii-bolashak.html

Financial Centre under the Ministry of Education and Science is at an early stage of devising a simplified programme for student loans with low-interest rates. 

British Council outlook for the nearest future

Student mobility from Kazakhstan is likely to shrink significantly for the 2020 intake according to the data we have collated from various education stakeholders and government bodies. Students might be thinking to choose to defer/cancel their applications, to study at elite local universities or to find other low-cost study destinations in the aftermath of Covid-19 outbreak, because of:

  1. economic downturn
  2. uncertain feelings towards travels to other countries
  3. and the fear of another worldwide virus outbreak. 

If boarders are open and international flights are allowed by June-July 2020, there will be a number of students going to the UK for studies through Bolashaq or on their own.

The UK has an advantage in Kazakhstan compared to USA, Canada and Australia because these markets are located too far away and in case of other worldwide collapses, students and their parents would not be wanting to put their lives at risk by travelling to very distant locations.

Competitors' activity 

UK's main competitors remain to work on their media presence and profile-raising activities, as well as student recrutiment events, such as EduCanada's virtual education fair for Central Asian and East European prospective students that was organised on 21 May. 

Other insights

With Kazakhstan’s aim to internationalise its higher education, there are favourable conditions to develop TNE partnerships with local HEIs. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education and Science is working with local HEIs on promoting the idea of creation of TNEs and other education partnerships to increase the quality of higher education and to create a Central Asian education hub. 

Economic situation

Kazakhstan’s businesses throughout the country have started reopening and, to help SMEs and individual entrepreneurs, the government of Kazakhstan is taking a number of supportive measures like soft loans in the amount of 600 billion tenge (£1.16 billion), exemptions from payroll taxes till October 2020 and negotiations with banks not to charge SMEs with interest rates for the period of quarantine measures. 

World Bank’s forecast for Kazakhstan’s GDP growth has dropped from 3.8 per cent to 1.8 per cent mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic and reduced oil prices. 

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. 

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. 

 

TURKEY

Update 26 May

To respond to Covid-19, Turkey has issued a number of measures starting with closing schools and universities as of 12 March.

Currently the public is strongly advised to stay home and practise social distancing. 

The government imposed an indefinite lockdown for people who are under 20 and over 65, crucially exempting most of the workforce as to keep Turkey’s economy on track. Shopping malls and some essential services reopened on 11 May.  The rest of the public venues are still closed.

Suspension of international and domestic flights will be lifted on 10 June 2020 and 04 June 2020 respectively. 15 cities are banned for motorway driving between cities. An intercity travel ban for people who are 65 and over has been lifted. Normalisation is likely to start gradually after the Ramadan Holiday.

School and university closures

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

As of 16 March, all schools and universities in the country are closed following an announcement by the Ministry of Education (MoNE) and Council of Higher Education (CoHE). All schools and the majority of universities have moved into distant teaching delivery. Both at national education (K12) and higher education level, senior year students will be receiving their diplomas (if they meet the requirements) at the end of spring semester.

Schools

There are 18 million students in school education in Turkey.

The Minister of Education announced on 18 May that schools have completed face-to-face education for this term and will reopen as of September. 

Teaching is continuing on the MoNE’s online platform EBA (Education Information Network) and TV channels nationwide.  Authorities confirm that senior year students will receive their diplomas at the end of the spring semester. MoNE announced that students grade point average will be calculated according to first semester’s scores. If students fail in any subjects, they will still be able to progress to the next grade with the condition of repeating the subject next year.

Private schools have been running their online exams as a back-up option. However, these results will not change the calculation of Grade Point Average (GPA).

Universities

Eight million students are in the higher education system. 

Universities will go back to their academic calendar and start planning the new academic year as of 15 June if Covid-19 cases are not rising.  Council of Higher Education (CoHE) announced that there will be no face-to-face teaching for this spring semester.  However, procedures for applied courses will be re-planned gradually and strict measures will be in place as of 15 June.  Universities are authorised to deliver and assess theoretical parts of the courses through distance education and digital teaching with the condition of being transparent, justifiable and auditable.

State universities deliver 300 thousand undergraduate courses, 108 thousand masters courses and 58 thousand PhD courses online whereas foundation universities deliver 45 thousand undergraduate courses, 8 thousand masters and 3 thousand PhD courses online.

CoHE has launched Covid-19 update platform to inform national and international academia on policy changes respond to Covid-19 on 8 May. http://covid19.yok.gov.tr

International Student Mobility

Initial observation from school counsellors is that students are likely to go ahead with their UK study plans to start in September. Only a small number of students consider deferring their studies.  

Surveys are run for different audience groups including students, school counsellors and agents to understand the sentiment towards the student mobility. All surveys are due to finalise on 22 May and the results will be shared with the UK sector by early June.

A quick snapshot from school counsellors survey;

“There is an increase in the number of UK applications compared to USA. But also there is a very high increase in number of applications to EU universities as well.”

“We still have a majority of the student body interested in studying outside of Turkey.”

“We are concerned, and the students as well. Most would like to continue education and be in the university environment, but some are considering gap years.”

Examinations

Progression to high school exams are due to take place on 7 June as planned. University entrance exams are rescheduled and put back as of 27-28 June from 25-26 July 2020 . This revision in date caused concern from students and parents. Results of university exams are expected to be announced by the end of July. Questions for both exams will be limited to curriculum offered in the first semester only. 

Universities are autonomous to determine their examinations and assessment of students’ success with the condition of being transparent, justifiable and auditable. Students will be assessed online or based on homework and projects.

Medical students at their final grades are given an option to complete their internship at state hospitals or remotely online (projects, homework or lectures). The British Council started computer base IELTS exams on 20 May. Priority is given to students who are urged to present their scores.

UKVI

Istanbul visa department and the Visa application centres in Turkey are still closed until further notice. 

For the latest information on VAC openings visit https://pos.tlscontact.com/turkey

MoNE and Chevening scholarship programmes

MoNE scholarship programme and Chevening scholarship are not affected by Covid-19 up until now. However, if the situation doesn’t change and online education is extended to fresher students, MoNE may reconsider postponing the start of these scholars until the face-to-face education restarts. The decision will be made by MoNE and shared with the sector shortly.

 MoNE allows their scholars to take online pre-sessional courses in this summer. 

Ministry’s scholarship applications for 21/22 intake will be announced in July.

Chevening applications for 21/21 intake are due to be announced in August as before.

Economic outlook in Turkey

GDP is expected to shrink this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Exports and tourism are main sectors to be affected. Containment measurements will continue to affect all businesses.  Currency fluctuation may discourage students from lower middle class segment; however, the core target group that is upper middle class and above historically not affected by foreign exchange changes. 

Turkey experienced a similar period in its economy in 2018 resulting in a 4 per cent decrease in postgraduate market. On the other hand, despite the currency fluctiation the undergraduate market grew by 18 per cent.

Contact

The International Education Services Turkey team will continue delivering a series of webinars for UK institutions to reach out students, parents and school counsellors in Turkey. Also, direct marketing services including digital promotion are available to help the 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 26 May

Uzbekistan has a fast-growing, young demographic and the largest population in the Central Asian region. Between 2013 and 2019, the population grew from 30.2 million to 34.1 million, almost a 14 percent increase in 6 years. Moreover, around 37 percent (12 million people) of the population is under the age of 19 and 60% is under 30. GDP per capita - US $2,020 (2019)   

State Response to Covid-19

According to the Ministry of Health, as of May 19, 2020 Uzbekistan has 2,791 cases of coronavirus, 2,314 patients recovered, and 13 deaths recorded. As of today, 82% of patients are cured.

The restrictive measures (quarantine) introduced by the special republican commission before March are extended until 1 June 2020.

From 8 May a new quarantine regime was introduced in Uzbekistan. Based on the assessment of the sanitary-epidemiological situation, based on specific criteria - the number of patients and the dynamics of treatment, “red”, “yellow” and “green” levels will be assigned to districts and cities. This decision was made on 6 May by the Special State Covid-19 Committee.

According to the decision of the Special Republican Commission, in all regions, regardless of the level of quarantine, several previously introduced requirements and restrictions will remain. 

Restrictions on interregional and intercity transportation remain. It is also allowed to transport agricultural produce grown by the farmers between regions and cities.

Zone specific information:

Red Zone

Regions where COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in the last 14 days. This list includes:

  • Karakalpakstan;
  • Andijan region; 
  • Namangan region; 
  • Ferghana region; 
  • Samarkand region; 
  • Tashkent region; 
  • Bukhara region;
  • Syrdarya region.

Yellow Zone

Regions where no new cases of coronavirus have been detected in the last 14 days, but where there are patients with coronavirus

  • Surkhandarya region;
  • Khorezm region;
  • Tashkent city.

Green Zone

Regions where there are no people infected with coronavirus, or where they have fully recovered:

  • Navoi region;
  • Jizzakh region;
  • Kashkadarya region.

Education Sector's Response

  • Online and TV education is introduced for primary and secondary education​
  • All universities moved to online education
  • MHSSE announced extension of distance learning and end the current academic year until 1 July. According to the order of the ministry, university rectors are instructed to ensure the completion of the current academic year by 1 July by ensuring the effectiveness of distance learning.
  • At the same time, teaching staff is transferred to the remote work mode 

Examinations

School students’ final exams have been moved to online testing developed by the State Testing Centre and should be completed by 1 June, 2020.

Currently STC is working on University Entrance exams for 2020/21 academic year and plan is to hold exams in the first two weeks of August. Respective recommendations have been sent to Special State Covid-19 Committee on this. Decision will be announced after close of quarantine on 1 June 2020. 

University and TVET final exams will be held remotely:

  • Bachelor graduates will take state exams in the form of online tests. To this end, university leaders were instructed to carry out organizational and methodological work.
  • State certification for graduate masters will also be organized in the form of online presentations.

Student Support 

Although Government is planning to cut expenditures planned for the year, it promised full support to education sector and students and parents.

  • Banks are not planning to cut student loans – interest free 10-year loans for bachelors and 5 year loans for masters studies are available
  • El Yurt Umidi foundation is planning to send 900 people abroad this year, including 200 civil servants. This is because government is in need of qualified people to run the country

State formed a fund with 10Bln USD to overcome the crisis and to support its citizens, businesses and SMEs.

Main Challenges and Opportunities for the UK

Challenges:

  • Not all education institutions and students are ready to move to e-learning – no experience and expertise
  • No online resources and course content/methodology
  • Difficulties holding assessments and exams
  • Curriculum and faculty training may not be too stringent or inflexible.
  • There is not enough trained faculty in the Uzbekistan who could administer or teach the TNE degree or course
  • Lockdown pressures: Face to face culture, stress
  • Economic pressures: budget cuts, savings, scholarships

Opportunities for UK:

  • Education sector can test and improve e-learning
  • Opportunity to form TNE collaborations with local HEIs
  • Great need for online learning and assessment solutions
  • Digital marketing to students, as they are becoming more independent 
  • Webinars on available study programmes
  • Work with education agents and agencies

Some Facts and Figures

Numbers of Uzbek students entering HE 

  • In 2019, 1 066 922 pupil applied for 110,000 places available in HE sector
  • Almost 92% of school leavers expressed their intention to enter a university in 2019
  • 56.8% intend to apply at the place of residence – 43% want to apply higher education institutes located in Tashkent.
  • In aggregate, almost 80% in case of non-enrolment intend to use other opportunities of getting higher education – 7.6% will go to the extramural studies, 15.4% will try to enrol in foreign universities and 56.3% will prepare to enrol next year.
  • Highest competition to enter local university was at National University of Uzbekistan – 29.47 pupils to 1 place. In average for Uzbekistan as a whole 10.28 people applied for 1 place available.

Number of Uzbek students going abroad for HE 

  • It is estimated around 80K students went abroad to study in 2020
  • Most to Russia, China, Korea and Baltic states
  • UK: HESA stats in 2018 – 200, 2019 – 230

Info we have on size of the market of those considering taking a TNE delivered course 

  • In 2019 survey showed that 15.4 % of pupils wanted to apply for foreign HEs in Uzbekistan. That is 164,306 pupils

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

 

Take a look at our previous update:

Covid-19 Update Wider Europe

 

COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES:

  1. Kazakhstan - Zhanaidar Duzgenbay, Zhanaidar.Duzgenbay@britishcouncil.org
  2. Turkey - Semra Yalcin Dogan, Semra.Yalcin@britishcouncil.org.tr  
  3. Uzbekistan - Shukhrat Amanov, Shukhrat.amanov@britishcouncil.org