Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan Ulanbek Totuyaev met with the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan Mukhtar Ahmed. Press service of the Foreign Affairs Ministry reported.
The parties discussed the state and promising areas of bilateral cooperation in the field of education. In particular, they emphasized the importance of organizing mutual visits of delegation for the exchange of experience in educational methods and programs, as well as student and academic exchange.
Ulanbek Totuyaev noted the commitment of the Government of Kyrgyzstan to the development of the education sector, introduction of innovative teaching methods, as well as the establishment of interaction with foreign partners to exchange educational practices. He announced the interest in developing comprehensive cooperation with the Pakistani side, concluding bilateral agreements, in particular, a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Higher Education Commission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as well as organizing joint events.
In addition, the Ambassador voiced a request to the Pakistani side to assist in the removal of restrictions for some medical universities in Kyrgyzstan by the Pakistan Medical Commission.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved a resolution, according to which the admission of foreigners is allowed in educational organizations that have passed international programme accreditation.
There are 23 higher medical educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan. At least 39,851 students study in them, including 24,653 foreigners.
It became known in 2020 that Pakistan included all medical schools in Kyrgyzstan in the black list and does not recommend its citizens to enroll in them.
The reason was that 90 percent of Pakistanis — graduates of universities in the Kyrgyz Republic cannot pass the mandatory exam of the Pakistan Medical Commission and their diplomas are not recognized at home. It became known later that four universities were transferred by the Pakistani side to the green list (List A), four more must be accredited, they have been issued a temporary accreditation for a year.
Former head of the Ministry of Health Alymkadyr Beishenaliev said he intended to close 17 private medical schools out of 22 existing ones. The list has already been made. In February, on behalf of the minister, a commission was set up to check the clinical sites of the country’s medical universities.
However, the Anti-Corruption Business Council noted that, according to the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, a license can only be revoked through a court. This can be done by the Ministry of Education, not the Ministry of Health. As a result, the Ministry of Health suspended the process of revocation of licenses from several medical universities in Kyrgyzstan.
The Anti-Corruption Business Council also proposed to set a mandatory minimum tuition fee for foreign students at medical schools - $3,000.
