Kazakhstan set to join OpenAI Edu Initiative

Kazakhstan is set to join a list of countries that will participate in the first OpenAI Edu Initiative. OpenAI launched the initiative under its global OpenAI for Countries program, selecting a host of countries as the initial participants. These countries include Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Greece, Estonia, Kazakhstan, and Jordan.

The inclusion of Kazakhstan in the initiative marks a milestone in the country’s education and digital transformation agenda. With the inclusion, the country becomes the first Central Asian country to be invited by the artificial intelligence firm to be part of the program.

The program will enable the introduction of ChatGPT Edu, a specialized educational version of the artificial intelligence, into national education systems, as reported in a statement shared by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

Kazakhstan set to participate in OpenAI’s Edu Initiative

According to reports, the statement was implemented under agreements reached following a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed in November 2025 during the visit of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the United States.

The participation of Kazakhstan and other countries in the program reflects a keen approach to artificial intelligence as a tool that helps teachers and educators rather than replacing them in the educational setting.

The integration of ChatGPT Edu is expected to reduce the administrative and methodological tasks for teachers while allowing more personalized and higher-quality learning.

While the initiative was implemented under a MoC signed in the United States, the main agreement was concluded between OpenAI, Freedom Holding, and regional partner Bilim Group. Under the program, 165,000 ChatGPT Edu licenses will be provided free to educational institutions in Kazakhstan.

The licenses are expected to be spread across preschool, secondary, technical, and vocational educators, with about 100,000 licenses already earmarked for them.

In addition, administrators and higher education faculty members would be provided with 62,800 licenses, while 2,200 licenses would be allocated to the participants in the Astana Hub ecosystem. The initiative was seen as a welcome development by stakeholders in Kazakhstan, with most of them highlighting the good it could do in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister hails the Edu program

The program was also hailed by Zhaslan Madiyev, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, who said the initiative reflected the long-term vision of Kazakhstan.

“We view ChatGPT Edu as a practical tool to support educators and develop a strong research environment, fully aligned with national education standards, security requirements, and the principle of equal access,” he said.

In addition, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek, noted that the program is designed to improve academic capacity rather than automated education. “Artificial intelligence is not a substitute for people; it is a tool that amplifies human thinking when used critically and responsibly. Kazakhstan is not preparing users of AI; we are preparing its creators,” he said.

ChatGPT Edu will help teachers create lesson materials, assignments, and assessments. In addition, it will also adapt content to different skill levels and work in Kazakh, Russian, and English. While AI can be used to assist in preparing evaluation criteria, the main activities, which include grading, remain solely with the educators. “Artificial intelligence should enhance the role of teachers by taking on non-core tasks,” Minister of Education Zhuldyz Suleimenova said.

The program is expected to include regular training sessions conducted by specialists from OpenAI to ensure consistent, effective, and responsible use of ChatGPT Edu across teaching, administration, and research.

Educational institutions will operate within secure, dedicated digital workspaces that are fully in line with the data protection and information security legislation in the country. Managing Director of Astana Hub Valeriya Te mentioned that the initiative will support several programs, including Tomorrow School and Tech Orda.

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