Kazakhstan has backed its education ambitions with substantial investment in new schools, higher teacher salaries and measures to strengthen the profession. Speaking at a Republic Day event in October 2025, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said education funding had tripled over the previous five years and teachers’ salaries had doubled.
Saqib Raza.
Yet investment alone cannot transform learning. As Tokayev emphasized in 2024, even the best programs and modern schools cannot succeed without good teachers. In July 2026, he described artificial intelligence as a tool that should empower teachers rather than replace them. Against this national backdrop, Nazarbayev University’s Science Café examined a timely question: what do teachers need to turn Kazakhstan’s education investment into better learning?
Three Graduate School of Education (GSE) researchers Assel Sharimova, Duishon Shamatov and Askhat Makhmetov examined teacher preparation, professional status, well-being and technology. Their research suggests that physical and digital modernization must be matched by investment in teachers’ capacity, autonomy and working conditions.
A teacher’s first year tests the system
For Shamatov, an associate professor specializing in teacher preparation and professional development, the decisive test begins after graduation. Young teachers often enter schools with limited classroom experience and little structured support. When they struggle or leave, the problem may lie less in their ability than in the conditions in which they begin. Preparation should therefore extend beyond a diploma through practical experience, systematic mentoring and opportunities to learn from experienced colleagues. Shamatov also serves on a working group of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education that is improving accreditation standards for teacher education. He cautioned against treating PISA as an exam for teachers or a competition between schools. It indicates how well an education system enables students to reason, solve problems and apply knowledge in real-life situations. Improving Kazakhstan’s performance requires investment not only in assessment, but in teachers’ preparation, continuing development and ability to create meaningful learning experiences.
Professional status, he added, cannot be reduced to salary or public recognition. Although Kazakhstan’s Law on the Status of a Teacher marked important progress, status is ultimately experienced through working conditions, professional trust, autonomy and respect for teachers’ judgment.
When high performance leads to exhaustion
Makhmetov, a postdoctoral researcher specializing in teacher well-being and educational equity, presented findings from Kazakhstan’s first study focused on teacher well-being. His analysis identified six profiles, challenging the simple division of teachers into “good” and “bad” performers. One vulnerable group consists of highly effective yet exhausted teachers, representing almost a quarter of the workforce. These educators often lead innovation, accept additional responsibilities and support school improvement. The commitment that makes them valuable can also expose them to chronic overwork and burnout.
This shifts the leadership question from how to demand more to how to retain those already driving change. Makhmetov highlighted workload monitoring, burnout prevention and conditions that keep professional motivation sustainable.
His study also revealed a “master’s degree paradox.” Holding a master’s degree was associated with lower subjective well-being, while the proportion of such teachers has risen from approximately 3.5% to 11%. Schools could respond by offering them greater autonomy and roles as mentors, curriculum developers and leaders of professional initiatives.
Support must continue inside schools
Sharimova, an assistant professor specializing in teacher preparation and professional development, emphasized that teachers’ early years are critical. New teachers learn through relationships with experienced teachers, subject colleagues and school leaders, while managing lesson preparation, assessment, reporting and class-teacher responsibilities.
Meaningful mentoring should include opportunities to observe lessons, receive constructive feedback and approach a trusted colleague when difficulties arise. Practical assistance and openness from school leaders are equally important.
The speakers also viewed digital technologies and AI as useful resources. They can support lesson planning, assessment and feedback, student engagement and the visualization of complex STEM concepts. Yet technology cannot compensate for weak preparation, excessive workloads or a lack of professional trust.
Kazakhstan’s education modernization will ultimately be judged not only by the schools it builds or technologies it introduces, but by what happens inside classrooms. The Science Café discussions point to the next stage of reform ensuring that teachers are well prepared, professionally trusted, protected from burnout and supported throughout their careers. Strong schools require strong teachers and national ambition depends on giving them the conditions to succeed.
The author is Saqib Raza, a PhD scholar in education and an MSc graduate in Educational Leadership in Higher Education from Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education, Kazakhstan.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Astana Times.
