Two Private Schools in Aktobe Fail to Pay Teachers’ Salaries for 4 Months

The private schools “Bilim” and “Smart Bilim” located in the city of Aktobe have not been paying salaries to teachers for several months. According to the recommendation of the prosecutor’s office, the labor inspection imposed a fine of 300,000 tenge on both schools, yet the teachers still have not received their wages, reported Kazinform.

Teachers reported that the salary delays have lasted four months, and some have been forced to leave their jobs as they could not pay loans or mortgages on time.

“I have been working at this school since it opened. Since August, we haven’t received salaries for more than four months. Classes continue according to the schedule, but there is no pay. We appealed to the school administration, the regional head, and the education department. All teachers are in debt; most have loans. Every ten days they promise, ‘We will pay soon.’ Out of 500 teachers, 100–150 have already quit,” said teacher Gulmira Jusipova.

The labor inspection confirmed that fines were imposed on the schools, but the salary arrears remain unpaid.

According to the school principal, Aigul Aryzgazieva, funding issues have persisted for the past three years.

“Initially, the Ministry of Education and Science funded the school, then the responsibility was transferred to the Ministry of Education, and later to the Ministry of Finance with a new platform introduced. That’s why salaries are delayed. We have been fined, but no funds were allocated to compensate teachers. The school provides free education to children, but there is no money in the accounts,” the principal explained.

Official data indicate that over 8,000 students are enrolled in these schools, with 579 teachersemployed. Each student receives 570,000 tenge per year from the state.

Deputy Head of the Aktobe Regional Education Department, Akkenzhe Tyndybayeva, clarified that since May 2025, funding has been provided from the local budget.

“The Ministry is now implementing a new mechanism. Data has been entered into the E-Kazynaplatform. This year, 4 billion tenge was allocated from the local budget, including 1.4 billion tenge for Smart Bilim,” she said.

Teachers are requesting that their salaries be paid promptly so that they can continue the educational process without interruption.