New-format special schools for children with special educational needs will be built in 20 regions of Kazakhstan. The schools will provide 1,000 places, with another 600 planned at rehabilitation and wellness facilities. Education Minister Zhuldyz Suleimenova announced the plans at a government meeting.
Kazakhstan has more than 237,000 children with special educational needs and 541 special education organizations.
Specialists who work with these children are trained at 17 pedagogical universities and nine colleges. Colleges plan to graduate more than 500 speech therapists in 2027.
Education organizations employ 7,500 teaching assistants who provide individual support to children. Since the start of the current academic year, six colleges have begun training such specialists and admitted 210 students.
The ministry plans to revise the rules for opening psychological, medical and pedagogical consultation centers. The proposed calculation would be based on 40,000 children, compared with the current standard of 50,000.
In 2024, classrooms and workshops were renovated at 99 special schools with support from the Qazaqstan Halqyna Foundation. Joint projects with the foundation will continue.
A comprehensive interagency plan for 2026–2030 sets out measures to develop inclusive education. It aims to improve support for children with special educational needs and make education services more accessible across the regions.
