Ministry of Education figures for April 2026 record 11,909 preschool organisations in the country, of which 6,526 are private. For the first time the private sector accounts for the majority.
The figures put the private share at 54.8%. They were published by Tengrinews (7 April 2026) and the newspaper Novy Vestnik (7 April 2026), citing the Ministry of Education. 24.kz reported on 13 May 2026 that the country has close to 12,000 preschool organisations, over a million children enrolled and 48,000 children on waiting lists.
A historical comparison shows the shift in structure. According to the Bureau of National Statistics collection "Education in the Republic of Kazakhstan", in 2023 the country had 11,346 preschool organisations — 5,555 state and 5,791 private — with 984,940 children enrolled (483,942 in state and 500,998 in private settings) and 99,330 pedagogical staff.
The private sector becoming the majority raises a new question for the field: who sets quality standards, and how. The Asyl Urpaq concept provides for a national registry of preschool organisations and teaching staff, a rating system for organisations and teachers, and work related to the state Concept’s indicator on the "share of preschool organisations meeting quality assessment criteria irrespective of form of ownership".
