Table 1 presents the results of a SWOT (strength-weakness-opportunities-threats) analysis of these three approaches.

The Situation in Kazakhstan: Demographics

One can see that each of the approaches has its own strengths and weaknesses. The question is: What will be good for Kazakhstan?

Let's look at the demographic situation and other factors in our attempt to make a decision. According to official sources the demographic situation in Kazakhstan is as follows:

Population:
16.8 m (July 1997 est.)

Age Structure:
0-14 years: 30% (male 2,536,307; female 2,462,742)
15-64 years: 63% (male 5,219,618; female 5,480,693)
65 years and over: 7% (male 392,374; female 790,059) (July 1997 est.)

Languages: 

Kazakh (Qazaq), which, according to the Constitution, is the state language of the Republic of Kazakhstan and is spoken by more than 50% of the population. In state institutions and local self-administrative bodies the Russian language is used equally with the Kazakh language.

Literacy, defined as percentage of the population age 15 and over who can read and write:

Total population: 98%
Male: 99%
Female: 96% (1989 est.)

From the data above one can see that literacy is very high, and the main language used in education is Russian.

Trends in Education

Any evaluation of the Kazakhstan education market must consider several different aspects. On the one hand, there is a tendency to close some educational institutions in the regions, while on the other hand there is a growing demand for higher education in prestigious colleges and universities with high standards of teaching. These trends will lead to a situation in which some universities will not have enough facilities to serve the growing demand.

Another important tendency is the fast growing interest in retraining for a better future: better-educated people tend to receive better jobs. Employers of big companies, as in the United States, are ready to update the knowledge of their staffs.

One more motivation for DL development in Kazakhstan is the need for universities to become financially self-sustainable. DL for them is a new source of revenue. So it is evident that development of DL in Kazakhstan has a great potential.

The question is: What is the best approach? How to start? How to apply the knowledge and experience of other countries, and the United States in particular, to choose the right approach for Kazakhstan?

Other Factors Possibly Influencing DL Development in Kazakhstan

Let us look at the Kazakhstan environment in terms of the evaluation of factors that might influence DL development in the Republic. Some of these factors are listed in Table 2.

I hope this discussion will help readers in the United States who might be interested in DL delivery to Kazakhstan and Central Asia understand the problems. While the United States has a well-established tradition of teaching DL programs through the use of cable TV and videoconferencing facilities, I must stress that in spite of all the advantages of this approach the Central Asia region does not have the developed infrastructure necessary for application of such methods. On the other hand, the results of my research show that high quality DL teaching and learning is possible using the online approach described above.

I, therefore, believe that the best starting point will be with the delivery of online corporate training programs in English to the personnel of large international companies in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. For this purpose collaboration of US entities, experienced in DL, has to be created with the aim of developing a suitable environment for DL. In my opinion, the best start will be development of a corporate training center with its own high-speed access to the Internet and highly qualified staff. This center has to provide the whole range of services to its clients, including consulting, software supply, courses, curriculum development, library supplies, software and course maintenance, etc.

This center will be a good base for further expansion of the idea of DL throughout the region.

Acknowledgment

Research for this article was supported in part by a grant from the International Research & Exchange Board (IREX) with funds provided by the United States Information Agency. Neither of these organizations is responsible for the views expressed herein.