Major Reforms to Teacher Certification in Kazakhstan: New Requirements Announced

The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan has officially revised the certification requirements for educators. During a briefing at the Central Communications Service, Vice Minister Shynar Akparova detailed the pilot changes aimed at streamlining the professional qualification process for teachers.

The primary objective of the reform is to reduce the administrative burden and paperwork that often hinder an educator's core teaching activities. Significant adjustments have been made to the criteria for various professional categories to ensure a more efficient evaluation process.

• Teacher-Moderator: The required number of open lessons has been drastically reduced from 25 to just 4. Additionally, the mandatory volume of professional development courses has been cut from 72 hours to 36 hours.

• Teacher-Expert: The format for open lessons has been optimized, focusing on the dissemination of professional expertise at the district or city level.

• Teacher-Researcher: A total of 6 open lessons (3 offline and 3 online) are now required. Educators in this category are also mandated to provide methodological support at the regional level.

• Teacher-Master: Beyond exchanging expertise at the national level, evaluation will now account for mentorship and volunteer activities.

Under the new Ministry directive, several traditional hurdles have been completely removed from the certification process:

1. Subject Proficiency Testing: The requirement for teachers to undergo standardized testing has been abolished.

2. Author Programs: The mandatory development of original copyright programs is no longer required.

3. Physical Portfolios: The obligation to collect and submit extensive paper-based portfolios has been eliminated.

These measures are designed to significantly lighten the workload of educators, allowing them to focus on the quality of instruction. Officials believe that by removing redundant reporting and testing, the education system will see a direct improvement in classroom engagement and pedagogical innovation.