World Monitor Magazine WM_November_2019_web | Page 52

EXPERT OPINION
Ideal education system:
how does it look like
Education is one of the most important things for a society to prosper, it
forms the character and intelligence of the individuals around the world.
It makes one able to understand what is happening in the world logically
and clearly and enables individuals to put their potential to use and make
a difference in the future. We have discussed education and it’s future with
Andrew Wachtel, rector of NARXOZ University.
Andrew Wachtel,
Rector, Narxoz University
What is, in your understanding, the best
or ideal education? not possible to fully introduce the Finnish
experience in Kazakhstan.
The answer to the question of ‘ideal
education’ requires an integrated approach
and cannot only focus on higher education or
university studies. You need to start from an
earlier period – from primary school. Schools
should produce well-trained youth. I believe
that the Ministry of Education should first of
all pay attention to the level of training in
all schools. Giving fundamental knowledge to students
will already be a huge step forward, or
perhaps for Kazakhstan a good step back.
The Soviet education system with all its
problems provided a solid fundamental
knowledge. A concern however is that
this system did not encourage creativity.
However, there is no obvious reason that
one cannot give a more or less fundamental
education and at the same time expect
students to feel freer and more comfortable.
If they read a work, for example of Pushkin,
you don’t need to tell them how to read it.
In the Soviet Union, everyone knew very
well that Eugene Onegin was a villain, and
it was mandatory to write about him that
way. If suddenly, the student were to write
that Eugene is not so bad, the work would
be deemed a failure without regard to the
arguments presented, how he or she looked
at it and why. I don’t see why it is necessary
to teach like that. Of course, students should
read and know classical literature, but also
how to interpret and argue; if the argument
is more or less logical and supported by the
text, then why not give the freedom to right
what they want?
As you probably know, in the world there
are now two opposing approaches to
education that are praised throughout
the world: Singapore and Finland. Finding
two more different systems would be very
difficult. In Singapore, with strict discipline
children must know everything, which
leads to severe pressure on children and
high suicide rates, but as a result of such
training and experience these children end
up with a strong fundamental knowledge
and easily become competitive in the
world market. Finland, on the other hand,
takes the opposite approach, and all school
subjects have basically been canceled there.
It’s not entirely clear to me how they teach,
but apparently, when the children finish
school, they still have some knowledge. It is
claimed that Finland is the happiest country
in the world, partly, apparently, due to its
approach to education. Still, if we talk about
traditions, geographical location and keep
in mind size of Finland, then, probably, it is
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It is important to know math, but here you
need to understand how and for whom to
teach it and what are the most effective
tasks for teaching. I believe that one of
the best initiatives in Kazakhstan is NIS