STEM Academia is often faced with equipping rural schools in its work. And today we will look at the main problems of their development, as opposed to urban ones.

1. Small number of pupils. In Kazakhstan, rural schools account for about 75% of the total number of schools. Half of this number are understaffed, which creates problems with organization of the educational process. Teachers have to teach in several villages. Not everyone agrees to such work.

2. Lack of qualified personnel. Many teachers prefer to work in urban schools, as salaries there are higher and working conditions are better. As a result, rural schools hire teachers with insufficient qualification, which negatively affects the quality of education. It is not uncommon for teachers to teach subjects outside their specialization.

3. Lack of funding. Underfunding of rural schools leads to lack of educational materials, outdated equipment and worn-out infrastructure. In Kazakhstan, there are schools commissioned in 1900. The condition of these schools, to put it mildly, leaves much to be desired. Lack of running water, heating problems, dilapidated building structures – all these are the results of limited funding.

4. Lack of modern technologies. Rural schools lack working computers. There are up to 5 pupils per one computer. Due to limited funding, schools cannot afford this amount of equipment. Also, many schools are not equipped or understaffed with specialized physics, biology and chemistry rooms. And about a half of schools do not have access to quality Internet.

5. Population migration. Many rural areas of Kazakhstan face population outflow to big cities in search of better living and working conditions. This leads to a decrease in the number of students in rural schools and triggers the above mechanisms.

Solving these problems requires a comprehensive approach from the state, public organizations and educational institutions. Increased funding will make it possible to equip schools with modern equipment and solve infrastructural problems. And the development of state programs to support rural schools will make it possible to attract qualified personnel. Together, this will improve the quality of education for rural children and will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the country as a whole.

This opens up new opportunities to improve the system and increase the quality of education.

STEM Academia will tell you how this technology is penetrating the educational environment.

How exactly can AI be used in education? For example, in schools, AI can be applied:

– To check homework assignments;

– To manage teachers’ and students’ time;

– For tutoring;

– As a distance learning program with a personalized approach;

– As a language simulator.

A striking example was the Orator Nomad online Kazakh language learning simulator developed by enthusiasts. The service analyzes language learning progress and, with the help of artificial intelligence technologies, forms an individual learning program.

The main task of introducing AI in education will not be to replace teachers, but to relieve them of routine work, which can be transferred to AI and free up time for other priority tasks. Where a teacher spends 5-10 minutes to check the homework of one student, an artificial intelligence will do it in 20-30 seconds. In such a situation, it seems more rational to give such tasks to a machine than to use human intellectual resources.

Technical progress has not bypassed higher education. Work is now underway on the digitalization of universities, the introduction of AI in educational programs and the use of new technologies in the daily routine of educational institutions.

The program is being implemented in such disciplines as data analysis, machine learning and robotics in the country’s leading universities.

To achieve ambitious goals, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan actively cooperates with such technology giants as Google, Coursera, Huawei, Amazon and Nvidia. The use of artificial intelligence in education opens new perspectives for modernizing the educational system and improving its efficiency. Proper implementation and use of these technologies can contribute to the creation of more accessible, flexible and quality education in our country.

In this article, STEM Academia will talk about the process and stages of inclusion implementation.

The main aspects of inclusion:

Every child is special;

Every child has equal rights and access to social life;

The value of a child does not depend on his/her abilities and achievements;

All children need mutual support and friendship;

Children’s interaction contributes to their development.

There are more than 160 thousand children in our country with disabilities. And only about 20% participate in inclusive education.

Today there are a number of problems and difficulties to ensure inclusive conditions. This is the lack of trained personnel, poor material and technical base, fear of parents of special children of ridicule and bullying by peers.

According to the state program of education development, by 2025 it is necessary for all pre-school and school education institutions and about 70% of colleges and universities to provide conditions for special students.

What is being done today to solve the problems of inclusive education?

The process of learning by means of inclusive games, where special children are involved on an equal footing with ordinary children, has been introduced;

Adaptive sports methods are being developed;

A teaching assistant position has been created;

Support rooms for special children were opened.

Over time, the idea of inclusive education in the minds of modern parents is changing. Special people are slowly becoming part of society, with the same equal rights and access to everything they need. There is a lot of work ahead to fully implement inclusion in educational institutions. The first steps have already been made, but this is not enough. Active participation of the state in financing this direction, training of specially trained teachers to work with special children, development of quality material and technical base and methods, as well as the use of foreign experience is required