Distance Education at Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic (on the Example of the Republic of Kazakhstan)

Abstract

Today, there is hardly an area of social life that has not been affected by the consequences of the spread of COVID-19. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the higher education system varies from country to country and varies from region to region. Nevertheless, we can trace the general vector of these changes: the pandemic has put universities in difficult conditions, forcing them to adapt to current events as quickly as possible, spend significant funds on accelerated digitalization and often make decisions without taking into account the possible consequences. The pandemic negatively affected international cooperation in the field of education and science: international travel was canceled, exchange and academic mobility programs for students and academic staff were suspended, and many research cooperation programs were suspended.