Over 35,000 teachers unemployed in Kazakhstan: Majilis deputy raises alarm
More than 35,000 teachers are officially unemployed in Kazakhstan, with thousands more working outside the education sector, according to Majilis deputy Sergei Ponomaryov, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Speaking at Government Hour in thew Majilis, he stressed the need for stronger regulation of university training programs, citing figures that show the teacher employment rate has fallen to around 70% and has been declining for three years.
Ponomaryov warned that the country’s education system is beginning to "burst at the seams” amid rapid AI development.
“More than 35,000 teachers are officially registered as unemployed as of November 1, 2024, and another 17,500 are working outside this sector, and for 60,000 no employment data was available," Sergei Ponomaryov noted.
He contrasted Kazakhstan’s situation with South Korea, where strict state regulation prevents universities from exceeding enrollment limits.
In response, Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek, acknowledged the oversupply of teachers as a pressing issue. He noted that while salaries and demand for teaching specialties rose after the adoption of the law on teacher status, curricula quality did not improve
Kazakhstan currently has five specialized universities - 52 licensed to train teachers, and more than 40 with relevant departments. Nurbek highlighted reforms underway:
“A major project was implemented jointly with the World Bank, resulting in the development of about 30 new curricula in collaboration with leading Finnish universities. These programs are now being introduced. Starting next year, a two-stage selection process for teaching majors will be launched, the admissions procedure will become more complex, the average UNT score will be raised, and certification standards for pedagogical universities will be revised,” said Sayasat Nurbek.
The minister also added that a reform of the Unified National Testing (UNT) is planned in the country: an agreement has been signed with ETS, and a pilot implementation of the new format is scheduled for next year.
Earlier, Sayasat Nurbek said that nearly 700 academic programs at universities will be closed due to their outdated content.