Education Ministry raises concern over overpacked schools, possible privatization in Kazakhstan
At the meeting of the staff of the Ministry, Sagadiyev reiterated that it is adamantly against the privatization of kindergartens, colleges and other educational institutions.
"We are totally against it. It's a good thing that over 700 new kindergartens and mini-centers, mostly private ones, were unveiled last year. However, we are against privatization of those institutions," he stressed.
"We want everyone to get the ministry's message on the need to expand the network of private schools right. We are talking only about the new schools. We need to stimulate construction of those schools, including through attraction of private investments. We must keep all public schools intact, every single one of them, and continue to build some place where the private sector could not reach them," Askar Ibragimov, Head of JSC "Financial Center" under the Ministry, said at the meeting.
Kazakhstan indeed needs more schools to be constructed due to ever-growing population and more people settling down in the cities.
According to Minister Sagadiyev, some 300 new schools should be built countrywide to meet the growing demand. To that end, 350-400 billion tenge is needed. The minister also stressed it is crucial to construct more schools in rural areas.
Yermek Amanshayev's report at the meeting with the population the same day resonated with Minister Sagadiyev's words. The deputy mayor of Astana city claimed local schools are over-packed to the extent that over 10,000 students have nowhere to study. According to him, 143,264 (!) students attend 95 schools in Astana.
"To that end, construction of 7 schools for 10,800 students has already began in the city (...) Over 40,000 people move to the capital from other regions of the country every year. Up to 70-75 children are born in Astana every day. This fact illustrates high quality of life as well as medical and educational services in Astana," he elaborated.
In 2018, Amanshayev added, 6 secondary schools for 6,900 students will be put into commission. Up to 46 schools are set to be built in Astana until 2022.