06.01.2026, 16:47 31601

Olzhas Bektenov Instructs to Review Funding Mechanisms for Private Educational and Medical Institutions

Images | primeminister.kz

Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting on reforming the system of state financing for private educational and medical organizations as part of the implementation of the instructions of the Head of State given in the programmatic interview "Kazakhstan Has Entered a New Stage of Modernization", primeminister.kz reports.

The Head of Government tasked the Ministries of Education, Healthcare, and Finance with eliminating imbalances in the per-capita funding system. It was noted that the state assumes obligations to provide high-quality and accessible educational services, and in cases where public institutions are overcrowded, per-capita funding is allocated for education in private institutions. At the same time, instances of abuse have been recorded, where an artificial transfer of students and teachers is formed in order to increase the volume of subsidies received. This negatively affects the quality of education as well as the rational use of public funds.

Attention was also focused on private institutions with high tuition fees. The Prime Minister emphasized that the state budget should not be used to finance so-called "elite" schools with a high level of parental payments that allow them to fully ensure the educational process on their own.

Minister of Finance Madi Takiyev reported on the ongoing work to transition to a new mechanism for placing state educational orders in private schools. In order to address problematic issues, the processes of financing private schools have been digitized-from the conclusion of contracts to payment for services. As of January 6 of the current year, according to the OrtaBilim service, contracts for financing have been concluded on the e-Qazyna.kz web portal with 789 private schools (845 schools in 2025) for a total amount of 78.7 billion tenge. A total of 206 institutions previously receiving funding did not meet the established requirements. Cases of inflated reporting and double counting of students and teachers, exceeding permissible design capacity, and other violations were identified. The audit revealed the following preliminary results:

abnormal movements of 1,333 students with transfers from one school to another ranging from 5 to 12 times;
in 64 private schools, the actual number of students exceeds the approved design capacity by more than two times;
for 2024, income was not reflected in tax reporting by 167 private schools.

Territorial Departments of Internal State Audit issued notification letters, as a result of which schools paid taxes totaling 1.2 billion tenge. As of today, counter audits are being conducted in 46 schools.

The next stage of work will be the digitization of public schools (6,887 schools), kindergartens, and universities. This will ensure transparency of the entire cycle of financing educational services provided at the expense of the budget.

During the meeting, the issue of revising approaches to licensing the activities of private educational organizations was also raised. In order to streamline the provision of medical services by private organizations, a government working group, taking into account citizens’ appeals, is analyzing the assets of the Social Health Insurance Fund. Based on the results, measures will also be taken to further improve the effectiveness of the Fund.

Following the meeting, the Ministries of Education, Healthcare, and Finance were instructed to submit specific proposals to address the identified issues within one week. Coordination of this work has been assigned to Deputy Prime Minister Aida Balayeva.

This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.

Olzhas Bektenov Instructs to Review Funding Mechanisms for Private Educational and Medical Institutions

relevant news

Most viewed

Relevant

1,787 driving licenses cancelled on medical grounds in Kazakhstan