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The Comfortable School national project has become one of the most significant initiatives in the field of education in Kazakhstan over the past decade. Within the framework of the project, initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 217 modern schools are being built, providing comfortable, safe and modern conditions for students. Of these, 208 schools for 434,600 student places in two shifts are being implemented by Samruk-Kazyna Construction JSC as a single operator of the project, and another 9 schools are being built by local executive bodies within the framework of a public-private partnership.

In 2024, Samruk-Kazyna Construction JSC completed the construction of 104 schools, creating 217,300 student places in two shifts. At the same time, 43% of them are located in rural areas, which guarantees children equal access to quality education, regardless of whether they live in a city or a village.

With the opening of new schools, a significant number of jobs have been created for teachers and service personnel. For example, in the Akmola region, all 9 planned facilities have been put into operation, of which 7 schools are in rural areas. In total, 24,400 student places have been created in the region, and more than 800 teachers have begun working in the new institutions. According to the Ministry of Education, more than 5,000 teachers have already been employed within the framework of the national project, not counting hundreds of service personnel.

By 2025, it is planned to complete the construction of another 104 schools, which will provide additional places for students across the country. According to local executive bodies, the construction of 208 schools within the framework of the project will solve the problem of three-shift education in 44 schools (Aktobe - 3, Almaty - 16, Atyrau - 2, West Kazakhstan - 5, Zhambyl - 2, Karaganda - 1, Kyzylorda - 2, Mangystau - 6, Pavlodar - 1, Turkestan - 2, Astana - 4) and eliminate 6 emergency schools (Abai - 1, West Kazakhstan - 2, Kyzylorda - 1, Mangystau - 1, Turkestan - 1).

Within the framework of the project, the EPC contract mechanism was applied for the first time in Kazakhstan, which allowed for design and construction to be carried out in parallel, significantly accelerating the process and ensuring its transparency. The implementation is carried out on a turnkey basis: contractors are fully responsible for the design, construction and equipment of schools. The state receives fully finished facilities that meet modern standards and are equipped with teaching materials. Directors of new schools do not need to request equipment or any materials from akimats, they only need to build a high-quality educational process. In case of poor performance of work, contractors are obliged to eliminate the deficiencies, otherwise contracts may be terminated. In addition, contractors provide bank guarantees, which serve as financial security for the elimination of possible defects. In addition, contractors bear warranty obligations: for structural elements of schools for a period of 5 years, for equipment - 3 years.

To ensure transparency of all construction processes and spending of funds, a single digital system e-Qurylys has been introduced. For the first time in the history of the construction industry of Kazakhstan, the act of work performed was signed in this system. e-Qurylys records all stages of construction - from the initial stage to completion. In addition to daily reports, contractors post overview photos, reports and show the progress of work on a weekly basis. All data on construction, material supplies and stages of work are available in real time for all participants in the construction process, including author and technical supervision, as well as competent regulatory authorities. This minimizes corruption risks and ensures reliable quality control.

The pace of school construction is unprecedentedly high: thanks to the EPC contract mechanism, facilities are built on average twice as fast as the standard timeframes without compromising quality. For example, according to the standard requirements, a period of 13 months is allocated for the construction of a modern school for 300 students. Of course, with traditional construction methods, the facility would not have been built even in such a period, since the design documentation, its approval and the allocation of funding also take some time. A comfortable school in the village of Saryozek in the Atyrau region for 300 students was built in 7.5 months, since the EPC contract mechanism was used. In a slightly shorter period of time - 7 months instead of the required 21 standard months - a school designed for 1,200 students was built in the village of Dolan in the Almaty region. By the way, this is one of the record-breakingly fast-built facilities under the national project. Among the facilities with a design capacity of 2,000 student places in 8 months (standard - 26), a school was built in the capital to the south of the Telman residential area. It is important to note that a technical supervision group consisting of three specialists worked daily at each facility, monitoring the quality of construction in all aspects - from general construction work to utility networks and technological equipment.

In addition, in accordance with the Government Resolution, the project widely uses domestically produced materials and equipment. The share of Kazakhstani goods in construction materials and equipment ranges from 75% to 90%. This means that all schools are built mainly from products of Kazakhstani enterprises with the corresponding CT-KZ certificate, with the exception of computer equipment and specialized equipment that is not produced in the country. For example, all schools in the Kyzylorda region have glass materials manufactured at the Kyzylorda Glass Factory. In the Turkestan region, facade materials were used that distinguish the comfortable schools of this region from others, since a travertine production plant operates in the region. The Almaty ventilation plant has done a tremendous job of providing ventilation equipment to the project facilities. It is important to emphasize that all the furniture installed in the comfortable schools is manufactured exclusively in Kazakhstan.

The financing of the project is of public interest, especially in matters of transparency and targeted spending of funds. The state allocated 1.423 trillion tenge for the construction of 208 schools implemented by Samruk-Kazyna Construction, of which:

• 499.9 billion tenge was spent in 2023;
• 444.7 billion tenge was spent in 2024;
• 95.7 billion tenge was spent in January-February 2025. It is planned to spend 241.1 billion tenge by May, and 141.7 billion tenge by the end of the national project.

When developing the design cost, Samruk-Kazyna Construction set a goal - to optimize the design cost as much as possible and ensure financial transparency. However, some contractors tried to get superprofits from the national project by artificially inflating the estimated cost. During the inspection of the design and estimate documentation, gross errors and attempts to artificially increase the cost on the part of design organizations were revealed: kilometers were indicated instead of meters, and tons instead of kilograms. In addition, unjustified use of coefficients for painting, double inclusion of the cost of materials and other violations were found. Design organizations turned out to be financially dependent on the construction companies-leaders of the consortiums. Pressure from contractors and poor design quality could have led to a significant increase in the cost of projects. Samruk-Kazyna Construction made considerable efforts to bring the estimated cost in line with the standards.

In addition, against the background of active discussions about the cost of comfortable schools, it is important to emphasize that all design and estimate documentation undergoes strict verification by the State Expertise State Enterprise. Often, when comparing the costs of their construction with private schools, it is claimed that comfortable schools cost the budget significantly more. However, it should be taken into account that private schools do not undergo state expertise, but are limited to private expertise without an estimated cost, providing only drawings. Often, such conclusions indicate only about 26% of the actual cost, which allows reducing the tax burden and achieving other goals.

In general, in the current conditions, it is absolutely incorrect to directly compare the cost of private and public schools, including comfortable schools. The construction of private schools and other social facilities without mandatory state expertise and strict control by specialized supervisory authorities is unacceptable. Without strict state supervision, it is impossible to guarantee safety, quality of construction and fair use of funds, regardless of the form of ownership.

Transparency of the use of budget funds within the framework of the national project is ensured by the mechanisms of EPC contracts, control by the state expertise, inspections of the Financial Monitoring Agency and other supervisory bodies integrated into the e-Qurylys system.

During the review of projects, it was possible to reduce costs in several parameters. According to the results of the analysis of design and estimate documentation, carried out by a single operator together with the RSE "Gosexpertiza", 106 billion tenge were saved. In addition, to date, 36.6 billion tenge have been saved by reducing the estimated cost of 205 objects after signing the lists of contract prices with contractors, as well as by reducing the actual cost of commissioned objects, 10.6 billion tenge have been saved. The latter indicator will change, since another 104 objects are to be commissioned in 2025. The total savings to date are 153.2 billion tenge.

In addition, due to the prompt commissioning of comfortable public schools, there is an outflow of students from the private educational sector. This indicates a high level of public confidence in the quality of the new educational infrastructure and comfortable learning conditions created by the state.

The next stage is the completion of the remaining 104 schools in 2025. Control over the construction progress has been strengthened at the initiative of the management of Samruk-Kazyna Construction. A visiting commission of experienced specialists has been created, which conducts an additional inspection of the quality of construction.

The company is open to public scrutiny: digital monitoring tools are used, reports are regularly published, and active interaction with the media is conducted. The importance of the public receiving reliable information on the progress of construction, financing, and deadlines for the completion of facilities is emphasized.

The Comfortable School project inevitably causes discussions and criticism, but the best answer to doubts is real results. New schools are already changing the educational environment, creating comfortable conditions for the education of thousands of children across the country. This is a unique initiative that is changing the approach to the construction of social facilities.