Universities rectors, directors of colleges, representatives of youth and student organizations, Atameken NCE, business associations, NGOs and regional prosecutors took part in the meeting.

It should be noted that the Head of State in his annual Address pays special attention to the education system. Important issues are training, from school to colleges and universities. The President ordered to bring the costs of education, science and health care from all sources to 10% of GDP within five years. At present, expenditure on education is 7.3-7.4% of GDP.

The Government is taking the necessary measures to fulfill the tasks set by the President. Over the next three years, 1.75 trillion tenge will be sent to implement the Address. From Jan. 1, 2019, the minimum wage will increase by 1.5 times — from 28 to 42 thousand tenge. Thus, 1.3 million workers will get wage increase by 30%. It will also affect 275,000 civil servants, including teachers, whose salaries will increase by 35%.

The Prime Minister noted that it was decided to start implementing the planned reforms with the adoption of the law “On the Status of the Teacher.” Raising the status of a teacher is the basis for educating the future generation; for the younger generation, the teacher must be a model and an example to follow. At the same time, special attention should be paid to the training of teachers in universities.

One of the key issues of the education system is the compliance of quality and price. To this end, the Government has set out the requirements for employability of graduates and the qualifications of teaching staff in front of universities and colleges. In particular, decisions were made: in specialties with low employment indicators, licenses will be revoked from the university, every five years, teachers will have to pass exams for qualification compliance. In addition, it is indicated that the technical equipment of universities and colleges must meet modern requirements. During the mee, Sagintayev urged the meeting participants to talk over the reasons and jointly work out the necessary measures.

Representatives from the education sector in the Zhambyl region also spoke at the meeting. Rector of Dulaty Taraz State University M. Sarybekov, among the directions of the further development of the education system in the region, noted the opening of new specialties that take into account modern requirements and needs of the regional economy. The proposal to include a new subject of study was also made by the Rector of Taraz State Pedagogical University Y. Amirbekuly. Rector of Taraz University of Innovation and Humanities E. Saurakov raised the issue of providing students with dormitories, which today is carried out within the framework of the implementation of the President’s Five Social Initiatives. Director of the Humanitarian and Technical College of Karatau D. Maselbekov in his speech touched upon the topic of dual education in workers' specialties (engineering and pedagogical, construction, chemical, etc.).

Head of the Regional Education Department R. Turmakhmanbetova, in turn, reported on the measures taken in the region to increase the availability and quality of pre-school and secondary education. For preschool education: since early 2018, 35 institutions have been opened for 3,357 places, including 30 private kindergartens and 5 minicentres. Thus, the coverage of 3-6 years old children is 98%. In order to improve the quality of secondary education, on the instructions of the President, 40 educational institutions have adopted the system of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools. About 16,000 teachers receive a wage supplement of 30%.

During the discussion, students supported the initiatives of the President voiced in the Address to the people of Kazakhstan. In particular, a senior of the Zhambyl Polytechnic Higher College M. Asylkhan shared his learning experience in a new German educational program. The program allows you to get several qualifications. For example, in 2.5 years he has mastered about 10 competencies: this is plastering, geodetic work, brickwork, concrete, installation and finishing work. The acquired knowledge and skills will help to find relevant work in the labor market.

A final year student of Taraz State Pedagogical University U. Ilyassova, in turn, expressed support for the President’s initiative to adopt the law on the Teacher’s Status. This, she said, inspires students and young teachers. The adopted law gives confidence to young professionals, which will allow them to unleash their potential and show successful results, and an increase in funding for the education sector encourages young professionals to choose the profession of a teacher.

“The President in his Address 2019 marked the Year of Youth. In the Five Social Initiatives, he drew attention to the problem of dormitories. We believe that this is all done to support young people. We, the youth, thank our President,” said Ilyassova on behalf of the regional youth.

In order to familiarize with the quality of the educational services provided in the region, the Prime Minister also examined the material and technical equipment of the Higher Polytechnic College. The laboratory of general chemistry was visited, where new installations for chemical analysis were introduced. In addition, Sagintayev presented the developed system of robotics. According to the akimat of Zhambyl region, 48 organizations, including 25 state-owned, operate in the region through technical and vocational education. In 2018, 27,396 students receive training in technical and vocational education in 94 priority areas of the economy, including 14,657 — by state order.