HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNANCE IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN: CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

The proposed paper will investigate the reforms in higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan, related to implementation of autonomy and shared governance, or corporate governance, as it is translated in the local context. Universities in Kazakhstan have realized that due to the increased competitiveness among universities, demands for innovation, budget cuts from the Kazakhstani Ministry of Education and vast spread of distance learning around the world it is of utmost importance to reconsider traditional approaches and generate new mechanisms to govern the university. Boards of Trustees and Boards of Overseers have been introduced in the field of higher education. Analysis of the governing board work in Kazakhstan will be performed in the paper.

In an attempt to develop a globally recognized system of education, as well as to eradicate the heavy impact of the old Soviet regime after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan embarked on the new route, which is devoted to identifying modern strands harmoniously fitting the cultural peculiarities, implementing contemporary best practices with the sole purpose to follow cutting edge patterns, eliminate existing weaknesses and to facilitate HEIs in their transformation initiatives in the country. In this regard, the country has recently updated the State Program for Education and Science Development for 2016-2019. Strategically, the program determines the core areas for the field of education. Due to the rapid changes in the world there was a demand to revise the previous program covering the period of 2011-2020.

At present Kazakhstani HEIs are fervently engaged in the process of altering and enhancing the organization structure of their institutions. HEI top management are committed to implement shared governance and autonomy in their schools, for autonomy is seen predominantly as a precondition for their success. Currently, Nazarbayev University is the only officially and legally recognized autonomous university in the country. It has operated for 6 years and has accumulated significant experience regarding governance to share with other universities in the nation.

However, in Kazakhstan there are university leaders with peculiar perceptions about the governance patterns which they inherited from the Soviet times. Those leaders find it disturbing to change their regular schemes and find themselves at a loss in the transformation stage. As a matter of fact, with all the global and local challenges, only HEIs which are the most flexible, resilient and prepared to changes on the local and international arena can endure the transformation process.

The theoretical framework will be supplemented with qualitative data from research: Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education has conducted fieldwork to uncover beliefs and attitudes towards shared governance and autonomy in Kazakhstan. Illustrative qualitative data obtained and presented in the paper can serve as an exemplary case for other countries initiating transformation of university governance. The research has been carried out in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (USA).
In addition, the paper will discuss the action which will facilitate the advancement of reforms in Kazakhstan.