The transition to 12-year education is an urgent need. President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov stated this in an interview with Kabar news agency. He was responding to a question about concerns raised at the People’s Kurultai regarding the shortage of schools and whether this issue is related to the transition to 12-year education.
As a reminder, delegates noted that some classes had 40-50 students and asked for this issue to be addressed.
According to the head of state, this has nothing to do with 12-year education.
«I have repeatedly emphasized in my interviews that this problem existed even before the implementation of the 12-year education system.
For example, in previous years, 140,000–150,000 children were admitted to 1st and 2nd grades. According to E-Kundoluk system, in the 2025–2026 school year, 106,015 students were registered in 1st grade and 124,593 in 2nd grade.
If we take 2015 as an example, the total number of students was 1,043,356, while in 2025, after 10 years, it increased to 1,536,633.
Thus, due to demographic growth, the number of schoolchildren has risen by almost 500,000. This is linked to demographic growth in Kyrgyzstan and increased internal migration to urban centers. In particular, cities now face an urgent need to build additional schools and kindergartens,» he said.
Regarding the transition to 12-year education, Sadyr Japarov emphasized that it is a requirement of the time.
«First, it aligns with global standards; second, it meets the demands of the global education market. We must keep up with the global educational landscape and the global labor market. Neighboring countries have already undergone or are undergoing this process.
In 2029, Kyrgyzstan will see the first graduates of the 12-year system. Without this transition, our graduates, not meeting international standards, will need an additional preparatory year to enter foreign universities. The transition to 12-year education has become an urgent necessity.
It is a global requirement. Without full integration into the international educational space, we will lag behind in preparing specialists who meet global labor market demands. For Kyrgyzstan, it is crucial to develop human capital capable of competing in the global economy. The 10—11-year education system fulfilled its historical mission — it was designed for a planned, command economy. Today, preparing competitive specialists for a market economy is a requirement of the time. This is a system of early professionalization,» he added.
