Twelfth Meeting of the TURKPA Commission on Education, Culture, Social and Humanitarian Affairs

On 16 May 2025, the Twelfth Meeting of the Commission on Education, Culture, Social and Humanitarian Affairs, held under the theme “Rapprochement of Processes in the Field of Education in TURKPA Member States: Problems and Prospects for Development”, along with a workshop titled “Contemporary Challenges, Issues, and Ways Forward in the Education Sphere in TURKPA Member States”, took place in an online format, hosted by the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The meeting was chaired by Ulan Bakasov, member of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic and Chairman of the Commission.

In the course of the opening of the meeting, speeches were delivered by the Chairman of the Commission Ulan Bakasov, Vice-Chairperson of the Commission and member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Gunay Afandiyeva and other commission members — member of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Hikmat Mammadov, member of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhuldyz Suleimenova, member of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic Yrysbek Atazhanov, members of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Tahir Akyürek and Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, as well as Secretary General of TURKPA Mehmet Süreyya Er.

In the workshop session, presentations were delivered by Head of the Department of Preschool and General Education of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan Chapay Mammadov, Lead Specialist of the Science and Innovation Department of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic Aijan Karybekova, Advisor to the Council of Higher Education of the Republic of Türkiye İlyas Kara, Expert at the National Education Academy of the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Türkiye Murat Akkuş and Expert Teacher at the Department of International Organizations, Directorate General for European Union and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Türkiye Şeyma Nur Dündar.

Following the speeches, the discussions during the meeting and the seminar focused on the field of education, including the challenges, issues, and possible ways forward for the development of education systems in the TURKPA Member States.

The meeting discussed the agenda items and approved the Commission Report and Recommendation to be submitted to the Fourteenth Plenary Session of TURKPA to be held in Kazakhstan on 11-12 June. One of the agenda items was dedicated to the draft Model Law “On the Status of Teacher” that was prepared by Zhyldyz Soburova, Head of the Sector of the Department of the Committee on Social Policy of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic. They provided information about the education systems in their respective countries. Participants also shared research data on educational institutions and programmes implemented across the member states, as well as valuable proposals for strengthening the education sector.

It was decided to hold the next meeting of the Commission in 2025 in Kazakhstan.

The aim of the workshop was to facilitate the exchange of knowledge in the field of education among the TURKPA member states, which possess a rich educational heritage, significant potential, and a shared historical and cultural space that provides a natural foundation for closer cooperation.