Yesterday, 334 young and talented children of the RFMSH 2020 cohort received their graduation certificates from our alma mater. These are bright representatives of Generation Z, who are already working on international startups, entering top universities in the world, creating creative projects, and just rushing to make the world a better place. For me personally, this year and graduation are special, since it has been 5 years since I have been actively involved in the life of the school.
In 2015, I headed the Board of Directors of the non-profit joint-stock company "RFMSH", and we attracted a new management team. There were a lot of tasks, in particular, it was necessary to work on:
- modernization of the school;
- improvement of the training program;
- creating comfortable living conditions in a boarding school;
- raising teachers ' salaries;
- restoration of the problematic construction of a new building;
- expanding the geography of student recruitment.
All these problems could be solved quickly and effectively within the framework of the new organizational and legal form of the NAO, which gave us the opportunity to attract graduates of the Russian Higher School of Economics and other enthusiasts in the field of education to the Board of Directors and the Board of Directors in order to jointly develop a long-term strategy of the school and solve current problems.
In 2016, we realized the important role of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences as a serious player in the ecosystem of physical and mathematical education in the country and neighboring countries. We realized that we cannot stand aside, not share our knowledge and experience and not participate in the processes of reforms and innovations in education. It is for this reason that we have opened a new school in the capital of the country. And today, the capital's RFMSH is seeing off the third issue of physical athletes. We have also developed and tested the Fizmat Primary School Program for primary schools in the capital of our country. Now Fizmat Primary School is one of the best in the country, which proves the level of professional training of teachers, the results of numerous Olympiads, feedback from parents, and a strong entrance competition. In the same year, our school became the first international member of the Consortium of Specialized STEM Schools in the United States, which now includes the top specialized schools in the world from Israel, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Qatar and other countries.
In 2017, we, a group of graduates of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, established an Endowment Fund (https://endowmentfund.fizmat.kz/). Thanks to the active support of all graduates, the Fund quickly collected the necessary amount, the investment income from which is paid to the teachers of the RFMSH Almaty. Deposits even in the amount of 1000 tenge show that graduates want to help the school. The key idea of the Foundation is to provide a cushion for times of crisis, so that the school never stops working. My late friend, Nurlan Kapparov, once inspired us to help the school during a difficult period in the 1990s. I am sure that among the graduates there will still be such pioneers who will also contribute to the development of the school and the country. Some young graduates have already started teaching at the school in their free time, such as the champion of jiu-jitsu and a graduate of the Nazarbayev University Moldir Mekenbayeva and the programmer Karim Zhumazhanov, while others have decided to deal with management issues and administrative reform. Among them are such graduates as Ruslan Kaliyev (RFMSH Astana), Asset Altybayev (Fizmat Academy), Aidar Bulatov (RFMSH Astana), and many others. Bakhyt Ospanov (Lancaster Group), Yernur Rysmagambetov (AIFC) and Ainur Kapparova (McKinsey) played a major role in the development of the Endowment Fund.
In the same year, we celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences with the whole friendly family of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, together with the legendary director of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences – Alexander Chernobay. Then, for the first time in Kazakhstan, we opened Yandex.Lyceum on the basis of the Russian Medical School. Yandex, a global company created by two graduates of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, has initiated an excellent program on programming in Python for students. We have developed the program in such a way that not only students of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, but also students of other schools can participate in it.
2018 was a record year for us in terms of those who want to enter the school: the competition of applicants exceeded 20 people per place, and since then it has only been growing. For comparison, in 2016 the competition was only 2-3 people per place, while in NIS and KTL the competition was several times higher. Almaz Kungozhin was appointed as the new director at the RFMSH Almaty, Shyngys Nurlanov was appointed at the RFMSH Astana, and Gabit Bekakhmetov was appointed as the chairman of the Management Board. Also, due to the fact that many specialized schools accept children in the 7th grade, we also decided to take this step. Again, as in the 1970s, seventh graders appeared in the school building. Adopting international experience, we have introduced the Singapore method of teaching mathematics in the capital's school, and in high school – the international Advanced Placement program, which allows you to take university courses already in grades 10-11. Such innovations gave their first results – in 2018, Aruzhan Amanbayeva, a graduate of the RFMSH Almaty, entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Princeton University, one of the best universities in the United States.
Aruzhan's achievement has become a great motivation for many girls. Traditionally, the RFMSH was distinguished by the fact that up to 70 percent of students at the school are boys. But now we see that the indicators are growing and more and more girls want to enroll in the Russian Primary School. Also, the ranks of students are replenished by children from different regions of Kazakhstan, which only pleases us. We work with organizations such as Chevron and Science on Stage Europe to disseminate international and physical education teaching experience in Kazakhstan. In order for the teachers of the RFMSH to officially teach and share their experience with students and teachers of other schools and regions of the country, in 2019 we opened the Fizmat Academy. He is also the operator of our now international FEMO Olympiad (Fizmat Elementary Math Olympiad). In 2019, we held the 15th anniversary season of the International Zhautykov Olympiad (www.izho.kz), where about 20 countries have already participated, including countries such as the USA and Denmark. Anuar Unaibekov, Yerlan Uteulin, Aliya Rakhimzhanova and Sherkhan Sauyrtayev are doing a lot of work on all these projects.
And now there is a difficult and unusual 2020. We are glad that our experience with the blizzards of the capital has prepared us for distance learning and we have implemented the Google Education toolkit in time. Our teachers were not only able not to interrupt their lessons, but also taught about 1300 students from rural areas, preparing them for the UNT free of charge as part of our corporate social responsibility. We have also trained several regions of Kazakhstan in distance learning methods.
The results of the last five years are bearing fruit. This year, three students of the RFMSH entered Ivy League universities, such as Princeton, Yale and Cornell, on a full grant. Another 200 graduates of this year have already been enrolled in foreign universities and Nazarbayev University, of which 80 are going to the United States and 30 to Germany and Canada. Support your younger graduates and help them adapt to your universities.
We are invited to open representative offices of the Russian Medical School and share our experience in the regions of the country. A few days ago, on Children's Day, I signed a Memorandum on the opening of the Fizmat Academy with the akim of the West Kazakhstan region, where we will broadcast our Fizmat Primary School Program for primary schools and play an important role in the STEM development ecosystem. The construction of a new building in Almaty is at the completion stage. Already in September of this year, you will be able to visit our new ultramodern building. In the summer, we are waiting for another set of children who will be able to study at the RFMSH. More than a thousand applications for each school have already been submitted online (https://admissions.fizmat.kz). Due to the current epidemiological situation, we will have to conduct it under strict preventive measures, and we are making every effort to ensure a safe selection process for students. The admission process has always been controversial, as many people want to study with us. Therefore, this issue has been under my direct supervision for the third year. If you have any questions about the transparency of this process, I am always ready to listen and take action. Do not trust anyone who guarantees you admission to our schools.
We still have a lot of work to do. I urge all graduates of the RFMSH to participate more actively in the life of the school and in the field of education in Kazakhstan. Now, more than ever, the school and the country need you. Participate in changes in education and science and help the country make a quantum leap. Once again, I want to congratulate all graduates, parents, students, school administrators, and, of course, our favorite teachers on the next graduation!
With respect,
Berik Kaniev
Link to the appeal on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/berik.kaniyev.16/posts/1363421480712878?__tn__=K-R