IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON STUDENTS IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan, as many other countries in the world had to urgently switch to online learning when it became clear that the Covid-19 was a highly contagious disease and it was necessary to ‘social distance' to slow down its spread. This study aims to explore the influence of the pandemic on lives and education experiences of the Kazakhstani undergraduate students. An online survey and online interviews were conducted via the social media platforms and 161 fully completed questionnaires were sorted out for the analysis. The findings indicate that during online learning students reported both positive and negative effects of pandemic on their lives and study experiences. More students started to work in part-time positions, however, their online class attendance fell considerably, and in order to cope with the increased amount of home assignments they started to cheat more often. Students were rather unhappy about the lack of interaction with peers and faculty members. Also, they were frustrated with the poor Internet connection as well as the need to self-isolate in the environment which does not always contribute to the productive education process. However, students also reported benefits in terms of more time spent with family and for self-development, self-care and hobbies.