Modern Schools for Mangystau: The Halyk Foundation’s Contribution within the ‘Otpan’ Project.

The year ends with a pleasant event for residents of the village of Beineu: three schools with 5,000 children studying at once became participants in a regional program to improve the quality of education.

Development of rural schools

The Otpan project was launched by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan based on the successful experience of creating rural support schools by the Sustainable Education Development Fund. The initiative aims to cover 50 schools in the region, ensuring development for 60 thousand students and 7 thousand teachers, and is being implemented through private investment.

‘The state pays special attention to improving the quality of education. To bridge the gap between urban and rural schools, last year the national project “Auyl Mektebi — Sapa Alany” was developed, which includes regional subprojects with the participation of private investors. This is a comprehensive set of initiatives aimed at updating the material and technical base, equipping educational institutions with modern teaching tools, and enhancing the quality of teaching staff. The first results of the project already show a significant improvement in the quality of education in rural schools, on average by 7–9 percent,’ — emphasized Gani Beisembaev, Minister of Education of Kazakhstan.

In order to effectively implement the project, the partners for methodological support of schools were the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools JSC and the Bilim-Innovation Foundation.

Halyk Foundation’s assistance in modernizing schools in Beineu

One of the first sponsors of the project to complete the modernization of schools was the Halyk charity foundation, which helped implement teacher training and upgrade the material and technical base of three schools in the village of Beineu.

As a result of the work carried out, educational institutions were equipped with modern facilities meeting high standards of quality and safety, contributing to improved learning conditions and the development of students’ skills. More than 50 educational spaces have been updated, including classrooms for primary grades, chemistry, physics, biology, computer science, and robotics. The classrooms are designed in a creative style that fosters a comfortable and inspiring learning environment, stimulating students’ creativity and interest in learning. Art and television studios have been launched, and student relaxation areas have been created, allowing breaks and free time to be used effectively.

More than 290 teachers are being trained in modern teaching methods, and work is underway with psychologists and school administration to improve professional competencies.

‘The development of education in the country is one of the main focus areas of the foundation. We provide grants to gifted children from vulnerable groups, equip schools and educational centers, support teachers, and teach senior students the basics of entrepreneurship. Since 2016, our foundation has allocated 10 billion tenge to the development of education, including 504 million tenge for equipping schools in the village of Beyneu. In our work, we strive to ensure that children in our country have equal access to modern technologies and are able to compete successfully in the future,’ — said Nariman Abilshaikov, Managing Director of the Halyk Foundation.

Creation of a network of supporting schools

It is planned that schools participating in the Otpan project will be able to provide methodological support to neighboring educational institutions, thereby replenishing the ranks of the supporting schools of the Foundation for Sustainable Development of Education.

‘In 2019, with the support of the Aitas holding, we launched a project to create a network of flagship schools and continue to develop them across the country. The “flagship school” model has, for five years now, helped bring rural education to a new level. The initiative has scaled into separate regional projects, such as “Otpan.” This project symbolizes the Foundation for Sustainable Education Development’s commitment to providing equal opportunities for learning and growth for students, regardless of whether they live in major cities or remote rural areas,’ — said Daniyar Toktarbaev, Director of the Foundation for Sustainable Education Development.

The implementation of the Otpan project, designed for two years, is accompanied by monitoring of the students’ academic achievements, which allows assessing its effectiveness and the results achieved. After completion, post-project support is provided for schools.

Let us recall that in November of this year the first results of the Otpan project were presented to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Tamara Duisenova.

It is also worth noting that there are 145 public and 53 private schools, Nazarbayev Intellectual School and 2 “Bilim-Innovation” lyceums in the Mangistau region. The total number of schoolchildren in the region is 188 thousand, and more than 16 thousand teachers are engaged in their education.

About the Foundation for Sustainable Development of Education (FSUDE)

The Foundation for Sustainable Education Development is a non-profit organization established on the initiative of businessman and founder of the AITAS holding, Serik Tolukpaev. Since its founding in 2019, the foundation has been a driver of change aimed at reducing the gap in education quality between urban and rural schools. Today, the foundation’s projects cover 325 flagship and small-scale schools across the country, educating over 160,000 children and employing around 11,000 teachers. Within these programs, more than 5,500 classrooms have been equipped, and over 40 billion tenge in sponsorship funds have been attracted, making the foundation a key player in transforming rural education.

In the Mangystau Region, the foundation operates two projects: the “Development of the Potential of Flagship Schools in Rural Areas” project, implemented jointly with the Qazaqstan Khalqyna Foundation, AITAS Holding, and the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools JSC, and the “Otpan” project, implemented together with sponsors, Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools JSC, and the Bilim-Innovation MOF. Under these projects, schools receive support in the form of methodological guidance and updates to their material and technical infrastructure.

About the Halyk Foundation

Founded by Timur and Dinara Kulibayev in 2016, the Halyk Charitable Foundation has implemented over 120 social projects totaling more than 85 billion tenge. The Otpan project is one of the foundation’s key initiatives for the development of the Mangystau Region. Since 2023, the foundation has allocated 4 billion tenge to the region: 1.8 billion tenge for the restoration of the Beyneu grain terminal, 565 million tenge for the installation of a desalination system serving 25,000 residents of Akshukur village and the Saina Shapagatov aul, 530 million tenge for the construction of more than 50 facilities for children, and 1 billion tenge for the creation of a 4-hectare sports and wellness complex in Zhanaozen. As a result of its work in 2023, the foundation was awarded the ‘Philanthropist of the Year’ prize in the field of public initiatives and charity in the Mangystau Region.

Photo: Qarlyğaş Nūr Jan

Источник: Tengrinews.kz