ALEM RESEARCH, an analytical company, has presented its media and social network monitoring-based ministerial ratings for October 2023.

According to the monitoring results, the Minister of Education was the most frequently mentioned in the media and social networks in October. Notably, Gani Beisembaev has led in mentions for the third consecutive month, deviating from the usual trend. Traditionally, the head of the educational department gains popularity in the country’s information field in August, when the focus is on schools’ readiness for the new academic year, and in September, when it often turns out that schools are not quite prepared.

However, 2023 broke this trend — in October, Kaznet continued to actively discuss the topic of education, or more precisely, the state of schools, and the minister himself provoked a new wave of discussions.

Demonstrative Assistance

Having started admiring the Minister of Education in September, Kaznet continued to do so in the first two weeks of October. The reason was a YouTube program featuring Gani Beisembaev, where the minister was arranged to visit several schools.

As the program’s creators claimed, Beisembaev was not aware of the chosen locations beforehand, which seems believable. Instead of being taken to exemplary institutions, he visited problematic ones. Interestingly, the schools were selected based on complaints on social networks (at least that’s what the authors claimed). However, social media users noted that the schools likely knew about the upcoming visit. For instance, the minister and the program host easily accessed the school premises. If this doesn’t indicate security issues, it at least suggests that the school administration had been forewarned.

However, such minor nitpickings by some users were overshadowed by the minister’s behavior. With a displeased and concerned expression about the problems of the schools, he made calls, reprimanded people, and gave directives to resolve the issues of individual schools in the shortest possible time. Most of the concerns were related to poor-quality repairs.

Not used to such ministerial forays among the public, Kaznet enthusiastically received the innovation. The verdict — that every minister should be like this — was a common theme in the comment sections. However, users debated whether this was a well-prepared PR move by the minister or a spontaneous suggestion by journalists.

Most leaned towards it being PR, and if so, it could be called a major mistake by Gani Beisembaev’s press service, as a short-term wave of positivity on social networks quickly turned negative.

You Can’t Help Everyone

With his effective public appearance, the Minister of Education sowed hope in the hearts of parents. Alongside posts praising the minister, calls multiplied for Gani Beisembaev to visit and resolve issues in schools where their children study, with appeals coming from practically all regions of the country.

Complaints were not only about the state of schools post-renovation and the dilapidation of buildings that had yet to be repaired. Issues included non-functional toilets, poor quality of textbooks and their scarcity, and in some places, a lack of teachers. There were also concerns about the safety of sidewalks and lighting on roads near schools in the evening. Complaints were raised about public transport drivers who refuse to stop when they see children.

Unanswered Calls

Gani Beisembaev did not respond to the calls of Kaznet, which led users to doubt that he is a model good minister. Moreover, there were doubts whether the problems in the schools he visited were actually resolved, especially since neither the ministry’s press service nor Beisembaev himself were in a hurry to dispel these doubts.

Additionally, a story emerged about a school-gymnasium in the village of Karaotkel in the Akmola region. The post’s author claimed that villagers have been seeking major repairs for several years and even appealed to the Ministry of Education. Supposedly, the ministry promised to address the repair issue, but it remained just a promise. To add fuel to the rising fire of negativity, there was news about the closure of the only Kazakh-language school in Ridder. The post’s author contends that instead of repairing the school, local authorities are persuading parents to transfer their children to a mixed school.

To remarks like, «the minister physically can’t satisfy everyone personally,» Kaznet retorted:

«If you say ‘A’, you should say ‘B’. If Gani Beisembaev has shown that he is personally ready to intervene in the situation, then at the very least, he should establish a commission that will honestly inspect all schools in the country. Only then can we say that the ministry is working and not just engaging in PR.»

ALEM RESEARCH emphasizes that they provide only the results of media and social network monitoring, which cannot be directly used to evaluate the work and effectiveness of high-ranking officials. Therefore, the company does not bear responsibility for any interpretations or assumptions related to the monitoring results that may appear in the media or social networks.