IQAA Regional Seminar: "Accreditation in the Education System: Goals, Procedures and Development Prospects"

On 16 October 2025 the Independent Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (IQAA), with the support of the Aktobe Region Education Department, held a regional training seminar on the topic: "Accreditation in the education system: goals, procedures and development prospects".

he seminar was held in a hybrid format at the Dinmukhamed Konaev Gymnasium in Aktobe and attracted a wide audience of participants:

• about 80 school principals from the Aktobe and West Kazakhstan regions attended in person;
• over 200 school principals from the Aktobe region participated online.

The aim of the seminar was:

The main goal of the event was to familiarize secondary education leaders with institutional accreditation procedures as a key quality assurance mechanism, as well as to discuss international and national experience in this area.

The seminar program covered the following key topics:

• Current international practice in the accreditation of secondary education institutions;
• Institutional accreditation procedure: stages, requirements and approaches;
• Standards for assessing the quality of educational activities in schools;
• Experience in preparing for accreditation and writing a self-assessment report.

The deputy head of the Education Department of the Aktobe Region, Bertleuova Nurgul Leskenovna, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech, noting that accreditation is official recognition of an educational organization’s compliance with established state or international standards. This confirms the high level of organization of the educational process and the school's commitment to continuous improvement.

The head of the Education Department of Aktobe, Kosymbaeva Metkul Orakovna, also supported the speech of the deputy head of the regional education department, emphasizing that the D. Konaev Gymnasium, which had successfully passed accreditation, had demonstrated a high level of training and compliance with modern requirements. She noted that this institution can serve as a model for other schools, and the results obtained can serve as an incentive for the further development of the entire educational system of the city.

"It is important that every school strives for improvement, the introduction of best practices and continuous growth. Only in this way can we ensure quality education for every child," she stressed.

IQAA President Professor Sholpan Kalanova gave a presentation on global accreditation practices. In her speech, she outlined the key trends, challenges and prospects for the development of quality assurance systems in secondary education.

The director of the IQAA's department for the accreditation of pre-school and secondary education organizations, Makazhanova A.M., and chief expert Mukalykova B.Zh. provided a detailed overview of the standards and criteria for institutional accreditation, the stages of preparation, and the practical aspects of undergoing external evaluation.

In addition, as part of the seminar, the director of KSU "General Education School No. 82" in Aktobe, Tazhimishev A.A., and the deputy director for academic affairs of KSU "General Education School No. 8", Sadykova B.Kh., shared their positive experience of undergoing accreditation at IQAA. They noted that this process had become an important factor in improving the quality of the educational process at the school and had contributed to the systematic development and implementation of effective management practices.