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At the end of last year, we became participants in an important event for our country - early elections of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan were held on November 20, when Kasym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev confidently won with 81.31% of votes. This has become a vivid indicator of the trust and readiness of Kazakhstan people to implement a global reformation of all spheres of the country's life in the name of building a New Fair Kazakhstan.
The election program of the Head of State, "Fair Kazakhstan - for everyone and for all. Now and Forever" is a consistent and logical continuation of the critical ideas of the constitutional reform being implemented today, as well as the September Address to the People of Kazakhstan. It is based on concrete steps for the large-scale development of the republic with a personal focus on each citizen.
This strategic document defines the work of the state apparatus for the next seven years and the main trends in the development of the entire society in the future. It proclaims the transition to a new state policy, which will be based on three interrelated principles: "A fair state – A fair economy – A fair society." As you can see, our life's political, economic and social components are affected. It is impossible to achieve profound changes in society in the long term, neglecting any of them.
We all have to go through a complete reset. The new modernization project announced by the President is addressed to all citizens of the country, especially to the younger generation. And speaking about the younger generation, special emphasis is placed on quality upbringing and education. In our difficult times, only this is the most reliable investment in a "stable and fair tomorrow".
Considering that it is necessary to lay the foundation from the beginning, the decision to create a National Fund for Children is logical and timely. In it, savings accounts will be created in the name of each child, where 50% of the investment income of the National Fund of Kazakhstan will be transferred annually. Upon reaching the age of majority, the child will be able to use these savings to purchase housing or receive further education.
The Head of State also stressed the particular importance of preschool education. Based on the results of numerous foreign and domestic studies, it is safe to say that early learning has a beneficial effect on the mental, physical and psychological qualities of preschool children, forms their craving for knowledge of the world around them, independence, and develops communication skills.
However, a serious omission today is that only 57.7% of children of the "golden" age (from 2 to 6 years), when they have active mental development, are covered by preschool education. Thus, for almost half of Kazakhstan's children, this precious time is lost.
According to the Government, by 2025 it is planned to increase the coverage of children with preschool education and training to 100%.
Improving the social status and salaries of educators, clear requirements for specialists in this field, and gradual reduction of workload, all these measures are aimed at fulfilling the main task – the formation of human resources for preschool institutions in the face of well-trained and dedicated teachers.
It will also help to protect our children from incompetent educators, whose unprofessionalism sometimes causes irreparable damage to the child's psyche.
If we talk about secondary education, then there are still several unresolved issues related to the emergency condition of schools, their congestion, and the difference between the quality of educational infrastructure in cities and villages.
According to the latest data, in 2021, the shortage of student places amounted to 264.8 thousand places. At the same time, the biggest deficit is observed in the Turkestan region – 27.4 thousand places, in Almaty – 25.9 thousand places and in the Almaty region – 19.4 thousand places. In Astana, Shymkent and in the Zhambyl region, the shortage of student places exceeds 12 thousand.
These are unacceptable indicators that require a speedy solution. And such a solution should be the national project "Comfortable School".
This project aims to eliminate emergency facilities, three-shift training and a shortage of student places in secondary education organizations.
Thanks to its implementation, over 800 thousand student places will be created in the republic that meet all modern requirements.
Thus, during 2023-2025, it is planned to build and put into operation about 400 schools with increased comfortable conditions for students. These educational institutions will be built both in cities and in the most remote villages.
The conceptual differences of the new comfortable schools will be the observance of a single standard of construction, the use of construction materials produced in Kazakhstan, increased safety measures for children, complete equipment with classrooms and laboratories, the availability of separate academic units and gyms for junior and senior grade students, necessary conditions for children with special educational needs, etc.
For the period of construction of facilities, there is an information system for monitoring the progress of construction, an interactive map with the function of video broadcasting and photo reports of construction sites for a wide range of users.
All these measures will lead to providing children with the necessary number of student places, reducing the distance between the city and the countryside, and will also create more than 100 thousand jobs by 2025 through the construction of educational facilities.
The policy of introducing trilingualism in schools will also continue. It is planned to strengthen the teaching of subjects of natural sciences and mathematics and English in the senior classes, as well as quality teaching of the Kazakh and Russian languages, which in the near future will increase the competitiveness of Kazakh youth in the national and world labor market.
The higher education sector was not left without attention, in particular, the most important issues of its accessibility were touched upon. It is no secret that the cost of education in Kazakhstan’s universities is steadily increasing, therefore, it is planned to allocate state educational grants, which, depending on the results of the UNT and other indicators, will be differentiated in size – from 30 to 100%.
Thus, on the one hand, it partially relieves the burden on the state budget, and on the other hand, it implements a differentiated approach, a kind of "sieve" through which only the best of the best will pass in the end. These measures will make higher education more accessible, as well as strengthen the ideology of partnership and mutual responsibility in society.
The next sensitive issue is the provision of dormitories for students. Today in Kazakhstan, there are 624 thousand students, of whom only 115 thousand live in dormitories, in general, only in 28 universities out of 120, students are 100% provided with accommodation in dormitories.
Therefore, it is additionally proposed to expand the mechanism of public-private partnership with universities and construction companies on issues related to student accommodation. The requirements for universities to provide students with dormitories will be fixed normatively, the possibility of subsidizing the cost of living for nonresident students from socially vulnerable categories is being worked out. This is especially important for young people coming to the city from rural areas for vocational education.
In the content side of the higher educational level, the strengthening of students' knowledge through their practical development is indicated.
For example, multidisciplinary hospitals will be built at medical universities. So, we will get the effect of "dual learning", when students undergo practice without departing from the educational process itself. World experience shows that this approach has been successfully tested and is very effective.
As you can see, in the election program of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, K.K.Tokayev, a big bet is placed on the education of the younger generation, but the state is only ready to help and create conditions, the rest is the responsibility of the youth themselves.
They need to be active and purposeful. After all, in the modern world, only educated people can fully develop their potential and benefit society, by having critical thinking and curious mind.
And it is these young people who are the main driving force in building the New Fair Kazakhstan!
Head of the Press Service of the Library of the First President
of the Republic of Kazakhstan
A. Nurkenov