Kazakhstan\'s Education Ministry has halved the number of institutions of higher education in the country over the last two years, ministry official Maksat Kalimoldaev announced on 13 May. Two years ago there were about 350 such institutions, and now there are 170, of which 32 are state institutions, according to Kalimoldaev. He added that the reduction is the result of ministry inspections, which found that many of the institutions did not meet official standards. He was quoted as saying that almost all higher-education institutions are calling themselves \"universities,\" even if they are not conducting basic research and lack the facilities to do so. The ongoing inspections can result in the downgrading of an institution\'s status or, in extreme cases, in its closure. The objective of the ministry\'s inspection is to ensure that universities provide a genuinely elite education, the official noted. The report did not indicate how many of the institutions that failed to meet the ministry\'s standards were state-owned and how many were private. (Kazinform)