Rural disadvantage in the context of centralised university admissions: a multiple case study of Georgia and Kazakhstan

Abstract

The extraordinary expansion of higher education has not been accompanied by more equitable access to universities for various disadvantaged groups. Rural youth is at the heart of this study that draws on secondary data and literature to examine rural-urban disparities in higher education access in two high-participation systems in the Caucasus and Central Asia. This multiple case study uses a historical-comparative lens to offer a synthesis of the evidence on the subnational and cross-national differences in the three domains of higher education access -academic preparedness, HE aspirations, and HEI/programme choicemaking -to point to the existence of prominent rural-urban disparities in Georgia and Kazakhstan. The study contributes to an improved understanding of the structural-territorial foundations of inequalities in higher education access and charts future directions for policy. The framework used in this study can be applied to examining disparities in access to higher education in other national contexts. KeywordsHigher education, access and participation, Georgia, Kazakhstan, rural disadvantage, examinations 2006). The methods section of this paper explains in detail the reasons for selecting these two countries.Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the living conditions as well as the educational opportunities for the rural population deteriorated (UNICEF, 2001). In the last two decades, Georgia and Kazakhstan have been in the process of transition into what these countries refer to as competitive, knowledge-based, market economies (Chankseliani & Silova, 2018). Both countries have implemented a number of public policy reforms including the abolition of what was described by local reformers and global partners as the Soviet-style, corrupt system of university-based admissions and the establishment of centralised examinations for student selection in 2003 in Kazakhstan and 2005 in Georgia (Bethell & Zabulionis, 2012; World Bank, 2012). The centralised examinations determine who enters university, how entrants are distributed to higher education institutions (HEIs), and how the state grant for tuition is allocated. The governments fully control, administer and fund these examinations. Kazakhstan's National Testing Centre (NTC) and Georgia's National Assessment and Examinations Center (NAEC) report to their respective line ministries in charge of education and allow almost no involvement from HEIs in the process of student selection.Up until 2020, the Georgian Unified National Examinations (UNEs) included three compulsory tests for all HE applicants: foreign language, Georgian language, and General

The role of private tutoring in admission to higher education: Evidence from a highly selective university in Kazakhstan

“…144, but 12 did not answer the questions relating to their gender and origin. These figures align withChankseliani et al's (2020) suggestion that rural school graduates in Kazakhstan are less likely to take part in the central examination system than urban school graduates to secure a place at one of the Kazakhstani universities Chankseliani et al (2020). made this claim with reference to the National Testing Centre (NTC) survey of Kazakhstan in 2018.…”

“…The study suggests urban school graduates, the majority of the study participants, were those who had sufficient financial resources to attend PT to help them prepare for the entrance examination and win a state grant to a highly selective university in Kazakhstan. In Kazakhstan, as in many countries, state tuition grants are very competitive and only about a quarter of all students enrolling are awarded a full or partial grant (Chankseliani et al, 2020;OECD, 2017). This has impacts on both social and economic inequality because not all students or their parents can afford PT, especially those living in rural areas.…”

“…This has impacts on both social and economic inequality because not all students or their parents can afford PT, especially those living in rural areas. One way to help rural school graduates enter prestigious universities in their countries is 'the contextual admissions approach' (Chankseliani et al, 2020(Chankseliani et al, , p. 1007) by considering applicants' geographical origins for higher education selection. The findings of this study support the argument that most families realise the need to invest at the senior-secondary level to secure state tuition grants for support their children at tertiary level.…”

“…Therefore, the UNT is highly tutored. The UNT is structured into two blocks: the first consists of compulsory tests in the history of Kazakhstan, mathematical literacy, and reading literacy; the second block comprises examinations in the two specialist subjects of the applicant's choice (Chankseliani, Qoraboyev, & Gimranova, 2020). However, the UNT is not considered part of the admission process for access to the university the participants of the present study competed to attend.…”

“…made this claim with reference to the National Testing Centre (NTC) survey of Kazakhstan in 2018. According to this survey, there were 146,034 school graduates in 2018, 72,746 of whom finished their schooling in rural areas; if all rural school graduates applied to higher education, only 12% could expect to obtain a state grant (cited inChankseliani et al, 2020Chankseliani et al, , p. 1001. The same survey by the NTC ofKazakhstan (2018) showed that 54% of students from Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, obtained state grants, whereas only 24% of students from rural areas succeeded in obtaining state grants (cited inChankseliani et al, 2020Chankseliani et al, , p. 1001.…”