BOLOGNA PROCESS
The Bologna Process, launched with the Bologna Declaration, of 1999, is one of the main voluntary processes at European level, as it is nowadays implemented in 47 states, which define the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The aim of the Bologna Process is to create a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) based on international cooperation and academic exchange that is attractive to European students and staff as well as to students and staff from other parts of the world.
Members of the Bologna Process are the 47 countries, together with the European Commission, and the consultative members, namely the Council of Europe, UNESCO, EUA, ESU, EURASHE, ENQA a.o.
Republic of Kazakhstan joined the European Higher Education Area (the Bologna Process) in March 2011. Currently, 60 universities of Kazakhstan signed the Great Charter.
By signing this document the universities commit to development of autonomy of universities, democratic principles of management, academic freedom of students, freedom of scientific research, etc.
The State Program on development of education for 2020 provides for fulfillment of obligatory and recommended parameters of the Bologna Process.
Besides, the developed in April 2011 new rules of organization of education process on credit technology provides for scale of evaluation of credit technology in Kazakhstan and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and mutual excepting of education programs, organization of academic mobility within Kazakhstan’s model of excepting credits on the ECTS basis, using of the European system of transfer and accumulation of credits in education process and module building of education programs.
Thus, the legal framework for development of academic mobility has been created. It is one of the effective ways to increase the quality of training personnel. The first steps in development of academic mobility have already been made. In 2011 the state for the first time supported the study in foreign higher education institution for one academic period in the best universities of Europe, South East Asia and the CIS. Besides, the mechanism of internal academic mobility was developed. The principle of this mechanism is 'regional higher education institution – national university’ and it means that the students from the regional higher education institutions will be able to study in the leading higher education institutions of the country.
The system of higher education underwent restructuring. The three level model of education was introduced: Bachelor’s program, Master’s program and doctorate. New principles of financing of higher education were introduced. 38 universities of the country perform two diploma education, 131 universities conduct the education process accordingly with credit technology and 42 higher education universities conduct distant teaching.
The program on development of education for 2020 provides for the measures that will promote autonomy of the national research universities since 2015, national higher education institutes – since 2016 and since 2018 all the rest higher education institutions of the country.
The fulfillment of the parameters of the Bologna Process in the education system of Kazakhstan will allow to provide quality services at the level of world standards in view of integration into the European Higher Education Area.
Regulatory documents
Mobility strategy 2020for the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)
