Tuition fees at higher education institutions in Kazakhstan vary significantly depending on the institution and the academic programme. In this article El.kz provides an overview of current tuition costs across the country’s leading universities.
At Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU), tuition fees are determined by the chosen field of study. According to the university’s official fee schedule, tuition starts at 500,000 tenge for the post-college Nursing programme. Most academic programmes fall within the range of 1.1 mln tenge to 1.6 mln tenge per academic year.
The most expensive programmes are in the medical sciences. General Medicine and Dentistry cost approximately 1.6 mln tenge per year, while Software Engineering is priced at 1.5 mln tenge annually.
At L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, tuition fees for the 2026 admission cycle were approved by the University’s Board of Directors and range from 1.6 mln tenge to 1.9 mln tenge per academic year. Programmes in Education remain the most affordable, while International Relations, Business and Management, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are among the most expensive, each costing 1.9 mln tenge per year.
According to the official website of Nazarbayev University, undergraduate tuition for the 2026/2027 academic year is set at USD 15,000 for both domestic and international students. At the current exchange rate, this is equivalent to approximately 7 mln tenge per academic year.
Why tuition fees are increasing
Inflation remains the primary driver of rising tuition fees. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, the consumer price index (CPI) for higher education services reached 110.8% in the first quarter of the current year. This indicates that tuition fees increased by 10.8% year-on-year.
The upward trend in education costs has persisted for several years. Since 2022, the price index for higher education services has remained within the range of 110 - 116%.
Universities attribute tuition increases to higher operating costs, including expenditures on campus maintenance, laboratory and educational equipment, digital learning platforms, and academic staff remuneration. Additional factors include amendments to tax legislation and higher prices charged by service providers.
Regions with the highest tuition increases
National averages mask considerable regional differences. The most significant increase in tuition fees was recorded in the Atyrau Region, where costs rose by 36.3%.
This was followed by the Turkistan Region (19.6%), the Mangystau Region (15.4%), Shymkent(15.2%), and Astana (15.0%). In Almaty, tuition increased by 9.4%, remaining below the national average for the leading regions.
Regional disparities are also evident in the absolute cost of higher education. In Almaty, annual tuition ranges from 500,000 tenge to 7.6 mln tenge while in most other regions fees begin at approximately 450,000 tenge, with the highest tuition reaching around 2.4 mln tenge per year.
Demand for fee-paying higher education remains strong
Despite rising tuition fees, the number of students financing their education independently continues to grow. At the beginning of the 2025/2026 academic year, 130,800 students enrolled in Kazakhstan’s higher education institutions on a fee-paying basis.
Compared with the previous academic year, the number of first-year students choosing self-funded education increased by 27.6%.
At the same time, the number of students who discontinued their studies due to financial constraints remained relatively low.
During the 2025/2026 academic year, approximately 13,800 students withdrew for financial reasons, representing 3.5% of all fee-paying students.
Financial resources are concentrated in major cities
Financial indicators suggest that Kazakhstan’s higher education sector continues to expand. Last year, the total value of services provided by higher education institutions reached 807.8 bln tenge representing a 17.9% increase compared with the previous year.
Approximately 40% of this amount came directly from student tuition payments. In monetary terms, tuition revenue totalled 319.1 bln tenge an increase of 29.6% year-on-year.
The largest financial flows are concentrated in Almaty and Astana, where universities accounted for 61% of the country’s total higher education service output.
At the same time, disparities between major metropolitan universities and regional higher education institutions remain significant. Universities in larger cities generally have greater capacity to expand academic programmes, modernise infrastructure and equipment, and attract highly qualified academic staff, whereas regional institutions operate with more limited financial resources.
Tuition costs and the quality of higher education
The increase in tuition fees has prompted questions regarding the return on investment in higher education. Universities argue that higher fees are necessary to strengthen infrastructure and enhance academic programmes. However, employers continue to report that many graduates lack practical, job-ready skills.
For example, Kazakhstan’s information technology sector graduates thousands of specialists each year, yet only a proportion of them ultimately work in their field of study. This highlights that, alongside tuition costs, the alignment of academic programmes with labour market requirements remains a critical issue.
For many households, choosing a university has become an important financial decision. Prospective students and their families increasingly consider not only tuition costs, but also programme quality, graduate employment prospects, and measurable institutional outcomes.
Fields of study with strong future demand
Career choices are evolving alongside changes in the labour market. Young professionals are increasingly expected to consider not only the title of their degree programme but also the competencies that will ensure long-term employability.
Fields with strong growth potential include software development, AI, data analytics, digital marketing, cybersecurity, and technology project management. At the same time, experts emphasise that employers increasingly value not only technical expertise but also analytical thinking, communication skills, and the ability to rapidly acquire new knowledge and adapt to emerging technologies.
Continuous learning has become one of the most important competitive advantages. As technology continues to evolve, occupations will continue to transform accordingly. The professionals who remain in highest demand will be those who are able to adapt effectively to changing labour market requirements.
