On the platform of the League of Academic Integrity, education experts discussed the rankings of the country's universities. Participants noted that academic rankings in Kazakhstan did not meet quality standards. Instead of helping universities improve, they lower their prestige through poor rankings. Experts also argue that it undermines the activities of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the work being done in the field of higher and postgraduate education.
I would like to emphasize the rating conducted by the "Student Alliance of Kazakhstan". It is based on a survey of students and thus actively promotes themselves on social networks. For the second year in a row, the developers of this ranking will publish a list of the best and worst universities in Kazakhstan. It is noteworthy that none of the best universities in their ranking in 2020 was among the best universities in 2021, and Narkhoz University, which was among the 10 worst universities in 2020, was among the best universities in 2021. If the list of the best changes every year and it includes universities that no one has heard about their academic achievements, what can be the opinion about Kazakhstan's academic rankings? In addition, the rating of the Student Alliance of Kazakhstan is made at the expense of the state. The Center for Support of Civic Initiatives has allocated about 20 millions tenge for the surveyed project, "said Yakov Voronkov, an expert of the Academic Integrity League.
According to Olzhas Ordabayev, such a large difference in the results means that there are significant shortcomings in the rating methodology.
"Typically, such different results show that the rating methodology has changed. That is, the information has changed and everything has been corrected. This means that developers are still looking for the right method. This is because if the methodology is established, it will not change significantly, because the change has its own justification. This can only be explained objectively in this way, "he said.
During the event, the representative of the League of Academic Integrity Yakov Voronkov suggested what should be the five main goals of any academic ranking of universities:
Informing applicants and other stakeholders (employers, central government agencies, etc.);
Providing higher education institutions with data that will allow them to improve the work of the organization;
Providing data to researchers;
Comprehensive assessment of the university on the parameters set out in the methodology;
Accountability to civil society.
According to him, currently only one rating of educational programs meets the above objectives. This is an annual ranking made by the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan "Atameken". They evaluate the performance of each university on the parameters set out in the methodology, such as "career prospects", "quality of educational programs" and "student achievement". It proves to be complex. The main indicators for these indicators will be published on the official website https://atameken.kz/ru/university_ratings, and the methodology will be revised and improved annually with the participation of universities, the League of Academic Integrity and other stakeholders.
The press service of the Academic Integrity League
