Many formerly Soviet-controlled nations struggled to bolster their education systems following the collapse of the USSR. Kyrgyzstan is one such country, having faced significant challenges in its education system after independence while also making steady efforts to improve it.

Kyrgyzstan’s Economy

Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan’s economy and industry were regulated by Moscow. Since the Soviet disbandment, the nation has transitioned toward a free market economy, one of the first formerly Soviet countries to do so. However, the economy has slowed down a bit in recent years, and many Kyrgyzstanis are suffering as a result. Although only 1.3% of the country’s population lived below the global extreme poverty line as of 2020, exactly one-third of the country’s population lived below the nationality line as of 2021.

Economy’s Effects on Education

Immediately following Kyrgyzstan’s independence, funding for education nosedived due to the break with the USSR. Therefore, the transition to independence caused a significant shock to Kyrgyzstan’s education system.

Furthermore, as of 2020, one out of three children in Kyrgyzstan lived below the poverty line (it should be noted that the pandemic severely exacerbated the issue of poverty). Children often have to sacrifice their schooling to work instead. About 27% of children in Kyrgyzstan have to work, and 14% miss class to work. Poverty in Kyrgyzstan is therefore impeding children’s ability to receive an education, since they often have to worry about providing for their families.

Learning Resources Lacking

Kyrgyzstan does not have enough qualified teachers to adequately educate children on important subjects. In 2025, Kyrgyzstan lacked 947 teachers that were needed by the education system. Many of these vacancies were in the subjects of math and Russian language, two vital subjects that children suffered in due to this shortage.

Furthermore, in 2025, there was a massive shortage in textbooks: schools in Kyrgyzstan only had 50% of the textbooks that they should have had. In lieu of school-provided textbooks, some students had to rent their own.

Solutions to Kyrgyzstan’s Problems

Kyrgyzstan is taking measures to combat the problems it faces in education.

Kyrgyzstan has a program called Programme to Support Families and to Protect Children, which began in 2018 and will continue through 2028. This program provides benefits to children or families in many cases: for example, a benefit is given to any newborn child, and a monthly benefit is given to families whose earnings are below a certain threshold and who have children under the age of 16. 

Furthermore, Kyrgyzstan is trying to bolster the learning resources available to children. In 2025, the Kyrgyzstan government put $8.5 million into printing new textbooks to combat the shortage. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education created an online textbook platform (the “Okuu Kitebi” platform) to allow for easier access to textbooks. Through this platform, the ministry hopes to not only match but actually exceed textbook demand by 2030.

Kyrgyzstan’s education system does face problems, such as students needing to miss school to work and a lack of teachers and textbooks. However, Kyrgyzstan’s government is working to address these issues in order to improve education for children nationwide.

– Robin Lee, Jackson Meyer 

Photo: Flickr