Extra-curricular clubs are becoming more and more accessible for small Kazakh citizens. The country has launched a special program for financing child development institutions. That is, they can be attended free of charge, at the state’s expense. Only about 5,000 parents and about 400 private organizations have applied for classes during the last two months since the beginning of the program. Although there are more than 83,000 places available this year. One child can join two clubs free of charge.
“We have a website EDU.kz, a portal of per capita financing. So a parent has to go to this website, register there, and then enter the child’s name, choose the region and direction, for example, sports. The parent will see a list of suppliers, who are also registered on this website. He can then choose the club he wants from the available suppliers,” said Dauren Zhussupnazarov, spokesperson for Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports.
“Of course, it’s a very good initiative. Its goal is to provide our children with free clubs in order to develop their talents and creativity, for their cultural upbringing. I think it will surely bring its benefits,” added Kumis Seitova, another representative of Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The Dance and Art Studio located in Nur-Sultan is one of the organizations that have passed the qualifying selection of suppliers. So far, only two groups for 70 places have been approved for this organization. All the available places were booked in half an hour. Currently, there are several more clubs wait for the approval of the ministry. One of the main advantages of the program is that they are located in courtyards, within walking distance for children, says the head of the school Lana Bolat.
“The classes were completely booked right away. There is a huge demand, parents are waiting. They curate this portal all the time hoping to get the available places. I think it’s a big investment in our future, in the future of our children, so that tomorrow we will get a younger generation that is healthy, well-educated and dedicated,” noted Lana Bolat.
Little Arina has been attending art and chess classes for two years now. She also liked rhythmic gymnastics, but her parents could not afford to pay for the third club. The news about subsidizing creative clubs made Arina's family very happy and perhaps determined the fate of the future famous gymnast of Kazakhstan.
“I’m very glad that the state has taken care of our children, or rather about our families. We’ll continue to attend chess and art clubs, and maybe we will also pay for rhythmic gymnastics. Arina is so flexible, she does acrobatic elements well. So, overall, we might be attending three clubs, which is a great help for us,” shared Marina Bas, Arina’s grandmother.
The main requirement for suppliers is the availability of qualified personnel, they also should have the premises that meet the requirements of the sanitary and epidemiological service, either their own or rented for a year in advance. So far, the mega-cities are the most active ones. However, not everyone knows about the program, which is why the choice on the website is not that great, experts say. The work continues. Applications from both organizations and parents are increasing each day. According to officials' expectations, funding will only increase. The goal is to reach as many Kazakh citizens as possible between four and 17 years of age.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
