Astana, 30 October. Almost all heads of Kazakh schools — 94% — are satisfied with their job overall, but only 49% are satisfied with their salary, according to the country note of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the TALIS 2024 international survey of teachers and principals, published on 26 October.
Both figures are in line with the OECD average. Between 2018 and 2024 the share of principals satisfied with their salary in Kazakhstan did not change, while the OECD average rose by 6 percentage points. 67% of Kazakh principals are satisfied with their terms of employment other than salary.
The biggest difference is in stress. 15% of principals in Kazakhstan experience stress “quite a bit” or “a lot” at work, against 61% on average across the OECD. Kazakh school heads name excessive administrative work (44%), responsibility for student achievement (40%) and maintaining discipline (32%) as the main sources; in OECD countries paperwork also comes first, but 68% of principals cite it, followed by changing requirements from authorities (56%) and parents’ concerns (53%). In Kazakhstan, principals worn down by paperwork outnumber those who admit to heavy stress at all by almost three to one.
Kazakh principals sit in on lessons more often than their OECD peers: 93% observed teaching often or very often, against 49% on average in the OECD. They say schools are held back most by a shortage or poor state of buildings (27%), a lack of digital resources for teaching (23%) and poor internet access (23%); on average in the OECD, 16% of principals cite a lack of digital resources. Above all, Kazakh school heads want to learn to use data to improve their school (55%).
What it means: By principals’ own assessment, the Kazakh school looks calmer than the average in developed countries — heavy stress is four times rarer — but half of the heads are unhappy with their pay, and digital equipment lags behind.
Who benefits: The report gives the Ministry of Education data comparable with other countries on what holds principals back: paperwork, buildings, internet. The authors themselves caution that TALIS relies on self-reports shaped by cultural context and social expectations, so cross-country comparisons should be read with care.
Background: TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey) is the largest international survey of teachers and principals, run by the OECD; the 2024 report covers lower secondary teachers and principals. In Kazakhstan, 42 schools took part — more than 800 teachers and principals from Astana, Almaty, Shymkent and five regions. Overall, about 280,000 teachers and principals from 55 education systems took part in TALIS 2024, according to BES.media.
We have also reported that the Development Bank of Kazakhstan stopped lending to private schools but kept 12.5 billion tenge for them.
