Date of publication:

08/21/2025

Kyrgyzstan

Do domestic laws and policies provide access to secondary education for forcibly displaced and stateless persons?

ANALYSIS

Assessment by population

IDPs
Refugees
Asylum-seekers
Stateless persons
Analysis

In accordance with Article 46 of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, everyone has the right to education. This right is enshrined as fundamental, guaranteeing access to education for everyone, including foreign citizens, stateless persons and, as a general rule, refugees. 

According to Article 27 of the Law "On Education" of August 11, 2023 №179, primary general, basic general and secondary general education are compulsory levels of education for all citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic. Secondary general education is considered the final stage of general education, aimed at developing specialized abilities and choosing a further professional path. 

Article 9 of the Law "On Education" of August 11, 2023 №179 establishes that for compulsory levels of education (including secondary general education), state educational standards apply, which determine uniform requirements for the quality and content of education. 

Moreover, Article 4 of the Law "On Education" of August 11, 2023 №179 confirms that everyone in the Kyrgyz Republic has the right to education regardless of gender, race, language, disability, ethnicity, age, political or other beliefs, property or other status, as well as other circumstances. This norm applies to everyone, including foreign citizens and stateless persons. Their rights to education are also regulated by the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On Education" of August 11, 2023 №179, including access to secondary general education. 

Although the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic does not provide asylum seekers and refugees with more favorable conditions than foreigners in general, nevertheless, the Law "On Refugees" of March 25, 2002 №44, the Regulation on Work with Refugees in the Kyrgyz Republic of April 04, 2003 № 188, and the Law "On Education" of August 11, 2023 №179 guarantee access to education within the framework of general legislation. Thus, the Law "On Refugees" of March 25, 2002 №44 confirms that asylum seekers and refugees have the right to access to education (Article 6). Article 4 of the Law "On Education" of August 11, 2023 №179 does not highlight special, more favorable conditions for refugees, but enshrines the general principle of equal access to educational services. 

The Refugee Convention (1951) guarantees that refugees and asylum seekers have the right to secondary education on an equal basis with foreign citizens in similar circumstances. The Kyrgyz Republic implements this principle through legislation on equal access to education. 

Thus, the domestic legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic provides access to secondary general education for all persons on its territory, including foreign citizens, stateless persons, refugees and asylum seekers. Secondary general education is a compulsory level, which makes it accessible to all categories of the population without discrimination. 

    LAW & POLICY

    Related provisions of domestic law or policy

    The Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic

    Legal provision

    Article 46 - Educational rights and state guarantees

    1. Everyone has the right to education. 2. Basic general education is compulsory. 3. Everyone has the right to receive free pre-school, basic general, secondary general and primary vocational education in state educational institutions. 4. The state creates conditions for teaching each citizen the state, official and one of the foreign languages, starting from pre-school educational institutions to secondary general education. 5. The state creates equal conditions for the development of state, municipal, private and other forms of educational institutions. 6. The state creates conditions for the development of physical education and sports. 7. The state promotes the improvement of the professional qualifications of citizens in the manner prescribed by law.

    The Law of Kyrgyz Republic On Education

    Legal provision

    Article 5 - State guarantees of the right to education

    The state guarantees the implementation, protection and defence of the right of citizens to education by: 1) creating an education system that meets the interests of the individual, society and the state, aimed at achieving quality education for everyone; 2) creating conditions for the implementation of the right of citizens to receive free pre-school, primary, basic and secondary general education, as well as primary vocational education within the framework of state educational standards; 3) creating conditions for everyone's access to secondary and higher vocational, as well as postgraduate vocational education; 4) creating equal opportunities, inclusive education and the inadmissibility of any manifestations of discrimination in obtaining education; 5) creating equal conditions for the development of various forms of education and types of educational organizations; 6) creating conditions for effective interaction between the state, local communities, participants in the educational process and civil society in matters of forming and implementing state policy in the field of education; 7) effective and targeted use of budgetary funds allocated for education; 8) creating conditions for the publication of textbooks, including textbooks published in Braille, teaching aids and methodological manuals (educational and methodological complexes and educational and didactic materials).