76% of Kazakhstan’s dilapidated schools are located in rural areas

According to him, as many as 180 schools will be built countrywide until 2027, as part of implementation of the Rural Territories Development Concept. 42 rural schools were commissioned this year, including those built under the Comfortable School national project. Approximately 2,500 schools were renovated in rural areas in the past 3 years, with more than 800 schools being modernized currently.

The Prime Minister tasked the Ministry of Enlightenment to develop unified requirements to the renovation of schools by the end of the year, which will include not only overhaul, but also provision of infrastructure.

He noted that rural teachers are paid 25% more than the teachers in urban areas. 

“The teachers arriving in rural areas under the program “With Diploma to Villages” are paid relocation allowances and are issued beneficial loans for housing purchase or building,” he said.

1.8 billion tenge were allocated from the Qazaqstan Halqyna Fund for the improvement of infrastructure in Aktobe region’s underfilled and hub schools, the Prime Minister reminded.

“Hub schools contribute to the improvement of education process in underfilled schools. In September, during my working trip to Aktobe region, I saw the first positive results of this project,’ Olzhas Bektenov stressed.

According to him, 57% of Kazakhstan's three-shift schools are located in rural areas, mainly in Almaty and Turkistan regions. 76% of dilapidated schools also operate mostly in villages, primarily in Aktobe, Kyzylorda, West Kazakhstan and Turkistan regions.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the shortage of qualified staff in rural schools, namely teachers of mathematics, physics and foreign languages, which leads to a significant gap in the quality of teaching in rural and urban areas.

At the end of the meeting, Olzhas Bektenov tasked the Ministry of Enlightenment and local akimats to create a network of 200 hub schools until 2025.

The akimats were tasked to launch community centers and branches of extracurricular education facilities to provide access to out-of-school activities by September 2025.

The Ministry of Digital Development and local akimats were tasked to provide rural schools with access to high-speed internet by September 1, 2025. In case of need, they were tasked to attract private operators to ensure accelerated modernization of networks in the remote districts.

The Ministry of Enlightenment and akimats were tasked to increase the capacity of underfilled schools.

Earlier, it was reported that 40% of ‘comfortable’ schools were built in rural areas