Turkic-speaking countries vow to upgrade education through establishing accreditation center
This year Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University chairs the Union of Turkic Universities, with the Turkic Council’s 2nd Forum of Young Leaders and the Turkic world youth’s Festival of Culture and Art under the auspices of the celebration of the Year of Youth in Kazakhstan held so far.
Opened by Bagdad Amreyev, Turkic Council’s Secretary-General, Musa Yıldız, Chairman of Board of Trustees, Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University, Bolatbek Abdrasilov, rector at Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University, the 4th General Assembly session featured the formation of a single web-based Turkic space for educational and scientific purposes, joint promotion of the Turkic world’s universities in international ratings, the harmonization of educational programmes through the basic common Turkic spiritual values mirrored in the programmes such as “Rukhani Zhangyru” (Spiritual Modernization), “Uly dalanyn zheti kyry” (Seven facets of the Great Steppes), the roll-out of mechanisms to simplify mutual recognition of diplomas as part of the new innovative project “Turkestan process”. Proposals were included to develop the Orhun programme to exchange students and its transition from a pilot project to a large-scale exchange programme.
Turkic Council’s General-Secretary, Mr Bagdad Amreyev, told the initiatives voiced in the Turkic world’s spiritual center in Turkestan would work best for the Union of Universities’ member states and the entire Turkic people, commenting positive decisions for the countries would be made following the session.
The initiative to set up a common Turkic system to ensure quality of high education and an independent accreditation agency in the format “quality control without national borders” was widely welcomed.
“I find it necessary to establish an independent accreditation agency for a common Turkic educational space to improve the quality of educational services that will ensure educational procedures’ standardization with world trends, as well as boost the reputation of our universities”, Bolatbek Abdrasilov, a rector at Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University, said.
Analysis of the positions of the Turkic world’s universities in international ratings indicates that all the universities have different starting positions and uneven opportunities to compete in the world education space both at the country level and the level of the Turkic world’s universities, requiring the quest for cooperation development and provision of mutual assistance in improving the universities’ activities pursuant to international standards of ratings agencies.
Regional heads of famous international company Elsevier Aliya Ospanova (for Central Asia and Azerbaijan), Aikhan Sarazhogly (for Turkey) marked the possibility of collaboration between the universities and countries to increase the quality of educational and scientific procedures in a bid to upgrade ratings of the Turkic world’s universities. The company stressed its readiness in its participation and counselling, which will significantly enhance effectiveness of actions aimed to increase the universities’ capacities.
It is worth noting that the event was held in the historic site, the cuddle of the Turkic world the city of Turkestan, the image of which being promoted on the world arena as an innovative, technological and scientific and educational hub that combines the international, cultural and spiritual connection.
