A round table was held at Abai University: "Transformation of Education in Central Asia", organized jointly with the World Bank office in Almaty as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the World Bank's partnership with the countries of Central Asia.

The event was attended by international and regional experts in the field of education from the countries of the region and other countries of the world, as well as 100 students of the project 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 Abai of the University.

The event was moderated by Susanna Hayrapetyan, Head of the World Bank's Human Capital Development Programs in Central Asia.

The meeting was opened by the rector of the University Darkhan Bilyalov. Noting the importance of the transformation of education in Central Asia and the experience of the leading pedagogical university of the Republic of Kazakhstan in restoring education systems in the post-pandemic period and introducing educational innovations, as well as the challenges in the industry that all universities of the world face today, he stressed that today, more than ever, cooperation, exchange of necessary information, support for each other and all possible assistance from national and foreign organizations.

The head of the Department of Global Practice in the field of education of the World Bank, Harry Patrinos, in his report "Transformations in the field of education in Central Asia: global prospects", spoke in detail about the study on this topic, the impact of the pandemic on the economy and education of the countries of the region and the world.

The round table discussed international experience in restoring education systems after the pandemic and educational innovations that help in this process, as well as sectoral problems faced by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and ways to solve acute issues.

Experts from Central Asian countries, heads of educational bodies and institutions of the region made presentations and exchanged experience of opportunities for the transformation of education systems that open up during the socio-economic recovery after the pandemic.

The event was held at a high level and was useful for all its participants.

It should be noted that despite the fact that schools and universities in Central Asia and around the world resumed their work in full-time format after the COVID-19 pandemic, the consequences of the last two years will leave a mark on the whole generation. According to expert estimates, "educational poverty" (a concept that means the inability of children to read and understand simple texts by the age of 10) has grown from 53 percent to 70 percent worldwide at present. In addition, 24 million children are at risk of permanently dropping out of the school system.

Postfactum.kz

The photos from press service of Abai University