The quality of higher education in Kyrgyzstan through the eyes of students

In this study, the perceived quality of higher education in the Kyrgyz Republic was analysed from the students’ perspective. The factors affecting the university choice as well as factors defining the perceived quality of education were investigated using a quantitative approach. The results of the study revealed that students perceive the quality of higher education in the country as rather satisfactory. The difference was observed among responses collected from different universities. Besides, the satisfaction of students from universities located in different regions differs: surprisingly, students from remote regions perceive education provided by their universities as a higher quality education than those from central universities. In addition, it was observed that factors such as university infrastructure, financial or other types of support, qualification of teachers and attitude of staff towards students also defined their perception of education quality.