Four Kazakhstans

Today there are “four Kazakhstans”, according to analysts from the Center for Research and Consulting agency, who, in cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan First President Foundation, prepared a comprehensive study of the development of human capital in the country. The regions of the country, which the researchers, using the structure of employment, divided into four types (post-industrial, agro-industrial, agrarian and concentrated on extraction), differ greatly in income levels, fertility, life expectancy and other indicators that affect the human capital index.

“It was amazing to see the huge differences between the four regions (meaning the types of regions. - Approx. ed.). For example, in terms of income, there is a fourfold difference between high- and low-performing regions. In terms of fertility, the north of the country can be compared with Europe, while the south reflects the trends of low-income countries, and the north-west of Kazakhstan is similar in life expectancy to African countries,” Jean-Francois Marteau comments.

The PISA-2018 data confirms this: low-performing regions lag behind high-performing regions by an average of four years of study.
Kovyazina believes that the most vulnerable groups - children from villages and low-income families - should be provided with free additional education and tutoring.
“If the Internet is at last provided (to all settlements in the country), then it is necessary to assign children to each online school. And, of course, online schools should not educate children for their own money. After all, there are state orders and subsidies,” the sociologist notes.