Enhancing the Quality of Education: A Key Priority of the Academic Council of KazNARU

✅ On November 21, 2025, under the chairmanship of the Chairman of the Board – Rector of the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Academician Akhylbek Kazhigulovich Kurishbaev, an expanded meeting of the Academic Council was held. The agenda focused on strengthening the quality and effectiveness of the educational process, as well as identifying priority areas and governance mechanisms for addressing strategic objectives of the university.

✅ Gulmira Egizbayeva, Director of the Department for Academic Affairs, presented a comprehensive analytical report covering key areas, including student enrollment, academic and research capacity of faculty members, ranking positions of educational programs, student academic performance, the level of practical training, graduate employability, and the progress of digitalization of the educational process.

The report highlighted that student enrollment at KazNARU increased by 20% compared to the previous year. The proportion of faculty holding academic degrees averages 63.5%, while the university employs 12 recipients of the national “Best University Teacher” award and 35 scholars of the international Bolashak program.

To strengthen practice-oriented learning, industry specialists have been integrated into the educational process, and dual education programs have been expanded. The graduate employment rate has exceeded 80%, and the educational process has undergone a comprehensive digital transformation, significantly enhancing transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

It was emphasized that, as a result of systematic institutional efforts, the university has strengthened its positions in both national and international rankings. At the same time, certain faculties and departments continue to face challenges that require enhanced oversight and further improvement to ensure consistent academic standards.

✅ Addressing the Academic Council, the Chairman of the Board – Rector, Academician Akhylbek Kazhigulovich Kurishbaev, stressed:

"Ensuring quality in education is fundamentally rooted in fairness. Over the past three years, we have conducted extensive collaborative work to build a fair, transparent, and accountable university environment. The governance structure has been revised, the average salary of faculty members has increased 2.8 times, and all educational programs have been fully updated. Seven joint double-degree programs with leading international universities are currently in operation, and the practical orientation of training has been strengthened. However, several areas still require attention: some departments demonstrate low graduate employment in their field, insufficient research output, and limited engagement of master’s and doctoral students in scientific projects."

The Rector also emphasized the importance of an open discussion of both achievements and existing challenges in order to collectively define approaches for further improving the quality of the educational process, enhancing the university’s social impact, research output, and overall governance effectiveness.

✅ During the session, Academic Council members and participants proposed measures to enhance the educational process. These included improving mechanisms for independent quality assessment, intensifying the work of the Council of Young Scientists, and considering additional financial incentives for faculty members for publications in international databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, thereby strengthening the university’s research impact and contribution to sustainable academic excellence.

✅ Concluding the meeting, the Chairman of the Board – Rector, Academician Akhylbek Kurishbaev, instructed responsible officials to review institutional approaches to increasing the efficiency of the educational process and to apply disciplinary measures to deans and department heads failing to fulfill their professional responsibilities. He also announced plans to hold a separate meeting with the university’s leadership and faculty deans.

KazNARU Press Service