Starting this academic year, school students in Kazakhstan will receive financial rewards for winning educational competitions. According to "NUR.KZ," President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed officials to expand incentive programs for gifted youth during an educators' conference in Astana.

The Head of State emphasized the importance of integrating artificial intelligence into secondary education and developing human capital. Under the new directive, cash prizes will be awarded not only to winners of international academic olympiads but also to students who excel in scientific project competitions. Tokayev noted that investing in youth potential alongside advanced technology is already yielding economic results, driving the emergence of new startups and "unicorn" companies.