ASTANA, Kazakhstan — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has highlighted major progress in Kazakhstan’s education sector while calling for a measured approach to further reforms.Speaking on August 26 at the plenary session of the Republican August Conference of Teachers, held under the theme “Human Capital, Knowledge and Progress – Key Values of the People’s Constitution,” Tokayev said education funding had tripled over the past seven years to 6.4 trillion tenge.He noted that 1,120 new schools with capacity for more than 1 million students have been built over the past five years.
During the same period, more than 5,000 rural schools were modernised and over 7,000 modern subject classrooms were equipped.Under the national Keleshek Mektepteri project, launched two years ago, 217 schools with 460,000 student places have already been constructed. Tokayev said the government would continue building high-quality schools, particularly in areas where demand for additional places remains high.The President also pointed to a shortage of more than 5,000 teachers, attributing the deficit largely to population growth and the rapid expansion of school infrastructure. He stressed the need to further strengthen teachers’ professional qualifications.
At the same time, Tokayev urged caution against attempts to overhaul the entire education system in a short period. He called for an end to “reforms for the sake of reform” and urged policymakers to focus instead on practical, well-considered and meaningful improvements.The President’s remarks underline the government’s focus on expanding educational infrastructure while improving the quality of teaching and ensuring that future reforms deliver sustainable results.
