Kazakh school graduates increasingly apply for teaching degrees

Kazakh school graduates increasingly apply for teaching degrees. The previously unpopular profession began attracting applicants again. And this is quite understandable: by 2025, teachers' salaries will grow twofold. Indexation in this sphere is carried out quite often and tangibly. There are significant benefits at the learning stage as well. The stipend for future teachers has recently been doubled and is currently the highest among other majors. However, with the growth of applicants, the selection becomes more competitive. For example, the passing score for pedagogical majors has already been raised to 75.

“There are currently 347,000 teachers. The scholarship for future teachers has doubled and became the highest, such was the instruction of the Head of State, and now future teachers receive 42,000 tenge (US$97.7). We have increased the passing score for pedagogical majors from 50 to 75. It is very important for us that the best school graduates apply for this major. The average score of applicants increased from 60 to 90 points on average,” said Askhat Aimagambetov, Kazakh Minister of Education and Science.

The minister noted that thanks to the reforms, in one and a half or two years such a trend emerged that the best graduates, that is, those who graduated high school with honours, choose the profession of a teacher.

“And this is also evidenced by the growth in the share of high school graduates who choose this major. According to the results of the last high school graduation exam, we see that the share of high school students that graduated with honours and who have chosen this major almost doubled. And already this year, while holding the high school graduation exam, the first news we hear is that students who score 135-137 points are also considering the profession of a teacher,” Aimagambetov added.

Translation and editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova