12:10, 21 September 2026, Bishkek – 24.kg news agency

, by Aizada KUTUEVA

More than 45,000 foreign students are currently studying in Kyrgyzstan, Minister of Science, Higher Education and Innovation Gulzat Isamatova said at a meeting of the Zhogorku Kenesh Committee on Science, Education, Innovative Development and Information Technologies, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs during a discussion of the report on the execution of the republican budget for 2025.

According to her, about 90 percent of the foreign students are studying in the medical field.

MP Toktobyubyu Ashimbaeva noted that foreign students had not been making payments to the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund, resulting in a total debt of 920 million soms across the country’s higher education institutions.

«This is a significant loss for the budget. We need to find ways to recover these funds,» she said.

Isamatova said that, since most foreign students study at medical universities, the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Innovation is currently negotiating with the Ministry of Health on recovering the outstanding debt.