The biggest problem of higher education in the Kyrgyz Republic is the mismatch between the programmes provided and the demands of the current labour market in the country (MoES 2006). Nonetheless in recent years, there has been a notable expansion of the higher education sector. Prior to the collapse of Soviet Union, there were only 12 higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Republic. The number of providers of higher education more than quadrupled to 50 by 2008/9 (UNESCO 2008). There are four types of providers of higher education in Kyrgyzstan. These are universities, institutes, academies, and specialized HEIs (for example, Kyrgyz National Conservatory, Bishkek Higher military specialized schools) (European Commission 2010).

The country has a total of 193 professional education institutions including 111 vocational schools and 82 technical colleges (MoES 2006). There are also 9 private technical colleges in the republic. In Kyrgyzstan the formal TVET system is divided into three levels: Primary, Secondary and Higher Vocational Education (ADB et al. 2007). The Primary Vocational Education system comprises 112 centres that cover all regions of the country. In addition, there are 78 Secondary Vocational Educational institutions consisting of technical schools and colleges. The TVET sector experiences problems similar to those of the higher education sector (European Commission 2010). The education process in TVET institutions have experienced problems with regards to the relevance of programmes and quality assurance. Educational standards have been developed by Training-Methodological Associations without the involvement of professional groups familiar with the content and there are no external procedures for assessing the quality of the training programmes (MoES 2006).

The number of students in higher education has doubled since the early 1990s. The gross enrolment ratio (GER) increased from 25% to 49% from 1991 to 2009, which is one of the highest rates in the world (MoES 2006). The majority of higher education students (over 91%) attend public higher educational institutions. The vast majority of students pay tuition fees and only 12.1% of students receive state scholarships.

In 2009, 3.2% of eligible students were enrolled in primary vocational schools. More than half of the students in TVET are female. Moreover, the large majority of students are Kyrgyz speakers. This highlights the socio-economic disparities between Russian and Kyrgyz ethnic groups as most Russian students pursue studies in HEIs and not TVETs. Non-public secondary vocational schools deliver training for limited number of specializations (teaching, economics and management, processing technology, humanities and social sciences). Only about 2.4% of the total number of students are trained in these institutions.

There is no adequate system for guaranteeing the quality of higher education. The two existing quality assurance mechanisms (licensing and attestation) of the performance of HEIs remain problematic in the Kyrgyz Republic as they are ineffective and are not used for monitoring of the quality of education services. In recent years, no HEI has been refused a license and all have successfully passed attestation, yet employers continually express discontent with the competence of the graduates. Moreover, there are no appropriate criteria or standards to assess performance of HEIs and there is no independent accreditation mechanism that would systematically control compliance with standards. Low standards for recruitment to academic positions resulted in a decrease of the quality of teaching personnel. Officially, a Master degree is required for the position of a lecturer. However, HEI administrations often hire people with Bachelor degrees or specialist diplomas to teach students at universities (60% of the total number of teachers have no degree) (European Commission 2006).

The quality of services provided by public TVET schools is lower than those provided by private TVET institutions. This sub-sector faces the common problem of mismatch between skills required by the labour market and TVET programmes. Currently, there are no quality assurance mechanisms in place. Teaching methods used in vocational schools are generally outdated. The teachers are rarely up-to-date on the subject matter and have limited contact with developments in the industry.

The MoES is the main agency responsible for policy, management and administration of the higher education sector in Kyrgyzstan. Several HEIs are regulated by the MoES in combination with another ministry: e.g. the MES and the Ministry of Health jointly govern the Kyrgyz Medical Academy. Other than MoES, there are other institutions that also play a critical role in the sector. The State Examination Board awards professional qualifications or academic degrees and issues state education certificate based on final examination results. The Council of Rectors links many institutional managers together to cooperate in developing quality and a research agenda across the education system. 

From 1994 until 2007, TVET has been managed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. From 2007, the sub-sector came under the jurisdiction of the MoES. Of the 112 vocational schools, 73 are financed from the national budget and 39 from district budgets. At present, the government funds institutions and not training programmes, and this resulted in the status quo in respect to TVET development. TVET is also provided by private training institutions, NGOs, specialized professional organizations and individual trainers, including external international experts who act as training providers. The duration of training in NGO programs is from one day to one week, while in specialized training organizations the sessions can last for several months. Because TVET is still partly administered by several Ministries with little coordination of strategies, plans and actions can be contrary to each other. Decisions are frequently made based on a fragmented and poor knowledge of management systems.

The system of TVET has been undergoing substantial reforms during the past five years. The modifications are based on the Action Plan of the Kyrgyz Republic Vocational Education System Reforms for Primary TVET; the State Program for the Development of Secondary Vocational Education and Training in the Kyrgyz Republic for the period 2005-2010; the Action Plan for Reforming the System of Secondary Vocational Education in the Kyrgyz Republic for 2005-2010.

In its 2009-2011 Country Development Strategy (CDS) document, the Kyrgyz government has outlined the following priority areas: setting up a system of secondary professional education; re-orienting the state attestation of graduates to examine competence and introducing professional exams for specializations financed by the government; introducing public systems of assessing HEI (e.g., ratings); examining the country's long-term needs for specialists etc (MoES 2006). The national government has recognized the need to provide more independence to HEIs in terms of curriculum content and development. The administration is also encouraging the donors from the private sector to set up scholarship programmes in public HEIs. The main goals of the CDS are seeking to rectify a chronic incongruence between the training courses and the demands of the labour market. The long-term unemployment rates of 9.6% for HEI graduates highlight this urgent need (UNESCO 2008)