Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has instructed that repairs in the country’s schools be completed by 1 September. He noted the slow pace of work in 34 schools in Almaty, the Abai and Ulytau regions, West Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kyzylorda, Atyrau, Aktobe and East Kazakhstan regions.
According to the government press service, Bektenov ordered regional akims to personally monitor compliance with deadlines and the quality of repair work.
"There is the issue of the timely procurement of equipment for specialised classrooms for physics, chemistry, biology, and robotics. By September, at least 200 subject-specific classrooms should be equipped," the statement said.
At the same time, the Prime Minister announced that by 1 September, it is planned to open 83 new schools across the country, including 57 as part of the National Project 'Comfortable School'. The new institutions will be able to accommodate up to 115,000 students. It is expected that this will resolve the issue of three-shift schooling.
The head of government emphasised the need to accelerate work to complete the construction of 15 schools in 9 regions of the country. The Samruk-Kazyna Foundation, together with the akimats, was instructed to ensure the facilities are brought into operation before the start of the academic year.
Furthermore, Olzhas Bektenov noted that the President’s instruction on implementing a unified security system must be fulfilled within the established deadlines.
According to him, educational institutions must have licensed security, turnstiles, and cameras connected to operational control centres.
"These measures will guarantee the safety of life and health of our children in educational institutions. The Ministry of Internal Affairs needs to continue its work on inspecting educational facilities for compliance with anti-terrorism protection requirements. I draw attention to the fact that today, around 30% of private educational organisations in the regions are still not equipped with the necessary equipment," Bektenov noted.
In turn, the Telegram channel 'Exit to the Truth' citing the Minister of Education Gani Beisembayev, reports that in Kazakhstan, more than 1,000 schools require major repairs.
The minister stated this while answering a question about the possible extension of the academic year until 1 June. According to him, the department does not currently plan to implement this idea.
"This issue is still open, because we need to bring all educational organisations up to standard — equipping them with modern classrooms. We can always return to various innovations when all educational organisations, particularly the infrastructure, are ready. Until the infrastructure issue is resolved, we will not return to that question," he said.