KINDERGARTEN SHORTAGE IN ASTANA: CURRENT SITUATION, PPP IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS

Abstract

This paper will provide an overview of the issue of scarcity of places in kindergartens in Astana. Kazakhstan is facing a scarcity of 250,000 places and 20% of these places are located in Astana. Despite the implementation of Public-Private partnership, the issue is still current. The main focus of the paper is on the current situation of shortage of places, PPP impact in addressing this issue and the challenges in PPP mechanism. We have conducted 15 semi-structured interviews with government officials, owners of kindergartens and experts of preschool education and legal experts. Based on interviews, it was found that the PPP mechanism partially solved the problem of scarcity of places in kindergartens. Respondents mentioned the success of the Balapan program but also noted the severity of the issue now. The reason for partially solving this problem is the lack of attractiveness of PPP mechanism for private businesses for the following challenges: bureaucracy, strict requirements, land unattractiveness, corruption, economic and financial challenges. The policy recommendations were provided for each challenge.