Improving the quality of life and ensuring respect for children's rights are among the priorities in the work of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. On the instructions of the Head of State Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, a number of initiatives and changes are being implemented in this direction.

On Children's Day, Primeminister.kz publishes an overview of the measures taken and the fulfilment of the President's instructions in the development of education, health care and social support for the young people of Kazakhstan. 

 

Protection of children's rights

1 June is International Children's Day. This holiday is celebrated by more than 30 countries of the world. The date reminds us of our great responsibility to the younger generation. After all, the most important right of a child is to be happy!

Ensuring the protection of children has always been, is and will be one of the main directions of state policy. Kazakhstan has ratified all major international legal documents in the field of children's rights protection, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed 30 years ago. 

According to official data, 6.8 million children live in Kazakhstan now. As Head of State Kasym-Jomart Tokayev noted in his speech at a meeting of the National Kurultai last year, the qualities inherent in a responsible citizen need to be ingrained in the minds of the younger generation. 

"The new quality of the nation will be formed only through the development of education, science and culture. These directions can be called the inviolable triad of spiritual development of our society. We should pay special attention to the upbringing of the younger generation, orient it towards achieving good goals," the President said. 

Kasym-Jomart Tokayev stressed the importance of taking effective measures to ensure safety and prevent juvenile delinquency, respect guarantees of the rights of orphans, and support for children with disabilities.

The Commissioner for Children's Rights works to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of children. Regional commissioners for children's rights have been appointed in 20 provinces. An interdepartmental commission on minors and the protection of their rights has been established under the Ministry of Education. Similar 235 commissions operate at the local level.

One of the priority tasks is to ensure the right of children to live and be brought up in a family. Of the 21,387 orphans, 17,660 are being brought up in Kazakh families. Every year, more than 1,000 orphans are adopted by Kazakh citizens. 

In fulfilment of the President's instructions, a comprehensive plan to protect children from violence, prevent suicide and ensure their rights and well-being for 2023-2025 has been approved, which includes a number of important initiatives. Recommendations have been developed on algorithms for responding to violence against children in emergency situations. Fourteen psychological support centres have been opened and are functioning in the country. 

Kazakhstan's national legislative framework, including the fundamental documents "On the Rights of the Child" and "On Education", is the human rights field on which a prosperous and safe childhood for children is built. 

 

Key priority 

Education as a key priority of social policy is also supported by the state. Obligations are being fulfilled to raise the status of teachers, build and open new schools, kindergartens, extracurricular organisations and colleges. Conditions have been created for the development of new methods and approaches to education. 

According to foreign experts, favourable conditions around a child guarantee 10% of the quality of knowledge. In this regard, on the instructions of the Head of State, Kazakhstan is implementing the National Project "Comfortable School". In 2024-2025 it is planned to open 369 schools for 740 thousand pupils. 98 schools will be opened by 1 September, 110 schools by the end of 2024, and the rest by the end of 2025. 

For the successful implementation and organisation of the educational process in comfortable schools, leaders of the new format are being actively prepared. State support for gifted children undoubtedly motivates both students and teachers to high achievements. This year, for the first time, a republican Olympiad was held for students of rural schools. 1,000 children were able to prove themselves at a high national level. 

At the same time, the State provides specific material assistance to talented children. For example, winners and prize-winners of international subject Olympiads are entitled to a lump-sum reward of 500 to 1,500 MRP. At the end of the 2023-2024 academic year, schoolchildren won 243 medals in 10 international Olympiads. Thus, the education policy being pursued is aimed at quality education and all-round development.

At the same time, various types of preschool organisations are functioning in the country. Their number has already reached 11,500 and they educate about 1 million children. By 2025, 300,000 new places are planned to be opened throughout Kazakhstan through the construction and reconstruction of kindergartens. By the end of this year, 77.3 thousand new places will be introduced. 

Today, the coverage of children from 2 to 6 years of age with preschool education is 91.5 per cent of the total number of children, with 107,000 children on the waiting list. A unified database is being gradually introduced to keep track of preschool children, centralise the waiting list and issue referrals to preschool organisations. This will make it possible to ensure transparent queuing for preschool establishments, taking into account the family's living situation.

As part of the implementation of the Model for the Development of Preschool Education and Training, preschool organisations have created an accessible developmental environment conducive to the formation of a physically healthy, socially active and harmoniously developed personality. 

In addition, 86 per cent of schools have created conditions for inclusive education. The network of special educational organisations is expanding every year. Some 500 such facilities provide special psychological and pedagogical services for children with special educational needs. In four regions of the country, the coverage of children with disabilities with special psychological and pedagogical support has been increased as part of the State educational order, affecting 2,000 children. There are 1,051 inclusive education support centres in schools. Over 2,500 teaching assistants help students to adapt to the curriculum and socialise in the school environment.

Another 3 million children are enrolled in supplementary education. In 2023, two children's educational centres (PECs) and nine schoolchildren's palaces were commissioned, and 16 community centres were opened in rural schools for children's self-development. A roadmap for the improvement of children's health and development of their creative and intellectual potential for 2024-2026 has been approved, within the framework of which it is planned to create 50 ECE centres and 100 new large-scale facilities for supplementary education.

Currently, 85 per cent of college students in Kazakhstan are provided with free education. The state order for personnel training in demanded technical specialities has been gradually increased. Since 2023, targeted training is being conducted at the request of enterprises with the obligation of employment. This should cover 10 thousand people annually. At the same time, 518 enterprises are already patronising 410 colleges. Dual training has been introduced in 558 TVET colleges, covering more than 85,000 students. 

To support students' entrepreneurial skills, 20 Business Startup student centres have been opened in 2023. 119 colleges sell goods of their own production. The scholarship has also been doubled. More than 85 per cent of the country's students are provided with places in hostels. 

As part of support for needy families, more than 400,000 children from socially vulnerable groups receive annual financial assistance to buy school uniforms and stationery. The average amount is about 45,000 tenge per schoolchild. Orphans and children left without parental care, as well as schoolchildren in emergency situations, also receive financial assistance.

97,000 kindergarten pupils and 200,000 pupils in grades 5-11 from socially vulnerable groups are covered by free meals. In 7,500 schools, all primary school pupils receive a single hot meal. Public monitoring of school canteens has been organised. Interdepartmental expert commissions have been set up. The canteens of 263 schools have been renovated.

A number of relaxations have been made for schoolchildren from the regions affected by floods this spring. In particular, they were given an opportunity to move the terms of their exams, and graduates were given an opportunity to enter higher education institutions with the best results of the previous UNT. For 832,000 students from 2,600 flood-affected schools who switched to distance learning, a "Summer School" was organised to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. 

 

Support measures 

Special attention was paid to children's holidays. More than 1.2 thousand pupils visited children's health camps, and 3.8 thousand more children will receive vouchers in the near future. It should be noted that summer holidays for children are organised under a joint plan of nine government agencies. Republican and regional headquarters have been set up. With the support of the "Kazakhstan Khalkyna" fund within the framework of the "QH Zhazdyk Zholdama" project, 20,000 children will have an opportunity to have a free holiday. Priority is given to schoolchildren from regions affected by floods, children from socially vulnerable groups and large families in rural areas. 

A total of 3.1 million or 92 per cent of schoolchildren are to be covered by recreation and employment. Of these, 2.9 million children will spend their summer holidays in more than 10,000 different children's health centres and camps. Already in the first days of June 150 recreation centres out of 182 will start working. To ensure quality and meaningful recreation for schoolchildren, 120,000 teachers-organisers have been specially trained, and more than 12,000 students and volunteers will assist them.

One of the main initiatives of 2024 is the "National Fund for Children" project. In fulfilment of the initiative of the Head of State, half of the investment income will now be distributed annually among all Kazakhstani citizens up to the age of 18. Upon reaching the age of majority, the money can be used for education or the purchase of one's own home.

The protection of the rights and legitimate interests of families with children is also one of the main areas of State policy. The national model of support for families with children is represented by a system of State benefits and payments aimed at stimulating the birth rate and promoting the upbringing of children in the family, as well as enhancing the prestige and authority of mothers with many children. Five types of allowances are paid from the budget and two from the State Social Insurance Fund. About 2 million families with children are recipients of allowances and benefits. This year, more than 1.5 trillion tenge has been allocated for these purposes. The amount is 19 per cent more than last year. 

Preventive examinations are also carried out annually for children from birth to 18 years of age. Last year, 5.5 million young Kazakhs were covered. One of the main achievements in preserving children's health is the development of highly specialised care in neonatology. Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia where cardiac surgery is performed from birth. In 2023, 1,708 open-heart operations were performed on children with congenital heart defects, almost half of which were performed on children up to one year of age. High-tech modern methods of diagnostics and treatment have been introduced in the republic, including immunohistochemistry, immunophenotyping, determination of specific cancer markers, high-dose chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue sarcomas, and organ-preserving methods of surgical treatment for bone sarcomas.

On the instructions of the Head of State, the Ministry of Health has developed a comprehensive plan to combat oncological diseases. It envisages measures to strengthen the material and technical base of children's oncological hospitals, improve drug supply and raise the qualifications of specialists in this service until 2025. The establishment of a National Oncohaematological Centre for Children is planned.

The Government of Kazakhstan continues to work to create favourable and comfortable conditions for the all-round development of children. The introduction of high standards in education, health care and social support will allow the formation of a new progressive generation, which will help the further development of Kazakhstan in all areas.