On September 1, 2022, the Kazakhstan University of Engineering and Technology hosted a viewing and discussion of the online broadcast of the Message of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the people of Kazakhstan. The meeting was attended by the rector of the University, vice-rectors, heads of structural divisions, heads of departments, teaching staff, students and undergraduates.
The Head of State, speaking at the regular session of the Parliament, outlined a number of issues on political modernization and economic transformations that should ensure equality of opportunities and justice for all citizens of the country.

The President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has determined the main tasks in the field of higher education.

We must adopt a new standard for the accreditation of pedagogical universities and develop a lecturer competency framework.

Educational institutions of technical and vocational education should be guided by the real needs of the labor market and correspond to the tasks of the new economic course of the country.

The state plans to allocate educational grants, which, depending on the results of the UNT and other indicators, will be differentiated in size - from 30%. up to 100%. Preferential loans for education will be provided at 2-3% per annum.

Providing students with hostels. To solve this problem, it is necessary to actively introduce the mechanism of public-private partnership with universities and construction companies. Therefore, the availability of hostels should be one of the criteria for access of private universities to public funding.

Endowment Funds at universities should become a key link in the development of the educational ecosystem. These Endowment Funds are the backbone of sustainable funding for science and innovation at the world's leading universities.

The growth of wages, adequate to market conditions, is a basic factor in improving the well-being of the people. The state will introduce a new methodology for determining the minimum wage, which will gradually increase its size.

Comprehensive support of young people is one of our absolute priorities. About 100,000 young people will be covered by various employment measures next year. A separate mechanism for preferential micro crediting at 2.5% per annum will be launched to support youth entrepreneurship.

It is necessary to reduce the deficit of the most demanded and highly qualified personnel. For valuable professionals in the field of science, healthcare, industry, IT, the state will introduce relief and visas with the right to obtain a residence permit will be granted.

The President has outlined the key areas of the upcoming reforms.

* Current directions have been identified in this context.

New economic policy

The qualitative and inclusive growth of the well-being of our citizens is the basic goal of economic policy.

The priorities of the new economic course will be:

- stimulating private entrepreneurial initiative, that is, moving away from state capitalism and excessive state intervention in the economy;

- the development of competition, that is, the provision of equal opportunities for all;

- fair distribution of national income.

Development of the real sector

It is necessary to simplify legislation and procedures for attracting investment in subsoil development.

Given the current geopolitical situation, Kazakhstan is becoming the most important land corridor between Asia and Europe. It is necessary to make full use of the opportunities that are opening up and become a transport and transit hub of global importance.

Strategic investment in the future of the country

It is necessary to raise the level of the minimum wage from 60 to 70 thousand tenge. This will directly affect the incomes of 1.8 million citizens. The retirement age for women will be fixed at 61 until 2028. Job loss payments will increase to 45% of the average monthly income for participants in the social insurance system. The Digital Family Card and Social Wallet are planned to be implemented from 2023. Within the framework of the “Year of Children” announced by the President, it is necessary to launch a fundamentally new program “National Fund for Children”. The President proposes to allocate 50% of the annual investment income of the National Fund to special savings accounts for children until they reach the age of 18, without the right to early withdrawal. Upon reaching the age of majority, the accumulated amounts will be used to purchase housing and receive education. These funds will give the younger generation a real ticket to adulthood. The fund will acquire the status of a national one and will serve the interests of the people. The transfer of at least 7% of the net income of the Samruk-Kazyna Fund to the public fund "Kazakhstan Khalkyna" must be made annually.

Rebooting public administration

The planned structural economic reforms require a reboot of the public administration system. People are tired of empty declarations and endless presentations of a brighter future. Citizens expect from state bodies the actual, not formal, fulfillment of their promises. It is necessary to focus on the decentralization of the public administration system, while at the same time increasing the personal responsibility of political officials. Part of the competences of the Government should be transferred to the ministries - a specific minister should be responsible for a specific sectoral policy. The government should focus on solving cross-sectoral issues.

Law and order

The rule of law and the quality of the definition of justice must be ensured. Urgent renewal and rehabilitation of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies is required. Business rightly considers excessive court fees to be a serious limitation in protecting its interests. Therefore, a reasonable amount of the fee for property disputes should be established instead of the existing percentage of the amount of the claim. It is necessary to revise the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, to get rid of everything that does not actually work or impedes justice. The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan should strengthen human resources and improve the quality of legislative activity.

* The full text of the Message of the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the people of Kazakhstan is available on the official website of the Head of State http://akorda.kz  and Facebook account @Akorda.