Trending on social media today in Kazakhstan are dozens of videos of young people sharing their delight at having been chosen to receive a state grant to study at university in the forthcoming academic year.
As the results were published, the videos started appearing on screens – teenagers in various situations, spying their names on the lists, exploding with joy as family and friends join the celebrations.
This is not just a story of a handful of elite students earning some coveted scholarship, it is a national success story as about 75,000 young people will now enter the 2026-2027 academic year in the knowledge that their education will be fully funded by the state.
Sadly, not every applicant was accepted, although 60% being chosen is a story in itself, as of the 127,000 who applied for the funding, more than half were given the nod.
Congratulations are therefore due to the lucky ones, including the 1,816 who have completed emergency military service, and the 2,000 allocated as part of the Serpin programme.
Those who haven’t been successful this time are encouraged to keep at it. This is not a one-off programme, with more grants to be made available in the future to those satisfying the criteria.
