Press release

UNIVERSITY RECTORS’ CONFERENCE WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF BFUG, MINISTRIES AND UNIVERSITIES OF CENTRAL ASIA REPRESENTATIVES

6 October 2022

On October 6, 2022, a University Rectors’ Conference with the participation of BFUG, ministries and universities of Central Asia representatives will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The Conference will be attended by representatives of the Ministries of Education of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, rectors of higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan and Central Asian countries, representatives of international organizations such as the Council of Europe, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), UNESCO, BFUG and the Academic Information Center of Latvia.

The conference is aimed at developing further steps for the development of regional cooperation in the field of education in Central Asia and activities of the Central Asian Higher Education Area (CAHEA).

The foundations for the creation of the CAHEA were laid in the projects TuCAHEA (Tuning  the Central Asian Higher Education Area), CAEP (Central Asian Education Platform), and at the meetings of the Ministers of Education of the European Union and Central Asia, and other joint projects.

In 2021, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan adopted the Turkestan Declaration on the Basic Principles of the CAHEA. The goal is to unite the educational space of Central Asia by establishing priority areas of development on mutually beneficial terms, adhering to a single goal - the proper and full implementation of agreed principles in the field of education in Central Asian countries at the regional and national levels.

Then, in May 2022, a Forum of Rectors of Central Asia was held in Almaty. At the Forum, it was decided to create an Association of Universities in Central Asia.

The next step will be the opening of a permanent Bureau of CAHEA. The Bureau will operate on parity terms, with the inclusion of a representative for each country in its composition. The mission of the Bureau will be to increase the attractiveness of higher education in Central Asian countries through the promotion of Bologna reforms in the region. Promoting the implementation of the agreed principles of the Bologna Process in Central Asian countries at the regional, national and university levels will lead to an increase in the competitiveness of higher education systems.

The conference will end with the adoption of a joint statement on the opening of a permanent CAHEA Bureau, which will be located in the Bologna Process and Academic Mobility Center of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.