Important reforms have begun in Kyrgyzstan’s medical education system. President Sadyr Japarov signed a special decree and decided to establish a state monopoly in the training of medical personnel in the country.
According to this decree, the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy named after Isa Akhunbaev will operate as the only authorized institution in the field of medical education. Other private medical universities will operate with restrictions or may function as branches of the academy.
According to the government’s statement, these measures are explained by the sharp increase in the number of private medical universities and the poor quality of the educational process in most of them. Many private institutions do not have a clinical base, and teachers do not fully meet the necessary requirements. In some cases, students were issued diplomas without practical training. As a result, the number of graduates without sufficient knowledge increased, and this undermined the reputation of Kyrgyzstan’s education system on the international stage.
According to the new rules, all private medical universities must undergo state accreditation by June 1, 2026. Later, they may operate as divisions of the academy. If they do not pass accreditation, the institutions may function only as preparatory courses or clinical bases at the academy. At the same time, the government was tasked with developing a unified state standard for medicine and pharmacy by January 1, 2026.
Officials emphasized that the main purpose of this reform is to improve the system of training medical personnel, reduce the risk of corruption, and protect the international reputation of Kyrgyzstan.
According to media reports, currently, students in private medical universities are mainly from Southeast Asia — Pakistan, India, Bangladesh — as well as young people from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In 2020, the government of Pakistan blacklisted Kyrgyzstan’s medical universities. The reason was that 90 percent of students who studied in Kyrgyzstan failed licensing exams held in Pakistan.
Recently, inspections carried out by the special services of Kyrgyzstan revealed that more than 20 thousand students, including many foreigners, were expelled from universities. Most of them studied at private medical institutions in Bishkek and Osh.
Thus, through these restrictions, the government of Kyrgyzstan aims to fundamentally reform the medical education system and make the training of qualified specialists in the country its main goal.
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