OSCE Centre encourages student engagement to increase quality of higher education in Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, 2 December 2008 - Raising the quality of higher education by engaging and empowering the student community is the aim of a conference in Bishkek today, supported by the OSCE Centre.

"Student governance can provide some checks and balances in overseeing the proper use of university resources and improving transparency in the educational process. We received positive feedback from six universities that participated in this project and hope to see more universities adopt such practices," said Kimberley Bulkley, Senior Economic and Environmental Advisor at the OSCE Centre. 

A project launched two years ago and supported by the OSCE Centre, helped increase the quality of higher education in Kyrgyzstan through a series of training courses for student unions, councils, Universities' senates and provided consultations and expertise.

"The role of students in assessing and improving the education quality is crucial. This project facilitated developing mechanisms to empower student organizations. We hope to further increase the involvement of students in the education process," said Natalia Bragina, the Director of the NGO Association of Education, which co-organized the conference with the Eurasia Foundation - Central Asia.