Kazakh entrepreneur Aidyn Rakhimbaev, founder of the construction holding BI Group, took to Instagram to share the changes at the school in his native village of Kulynzhon in the East Kazakhstan Region. According to him, the institution that once stood half-empty now produces graduates who are admitted to Nazarbayev University, a boarding school and sports complex have opened at the school, and there are no longer enough places for everyone who wants to enroll, reports infohub.kz.
Several years ago, the school in the village of Kulynzhon in the Samara district underwent a major renovation. However, the quality of education remained low: many classes lagged behind, and strong teachers were in short supply. That was when Rakhimbaev began searching for a new principal.
Aralbek Berikuly, who at the time was serving as deputy chairman of the Republican Physics and Mathematics School (RFMS), agreed to head the school.
"It would seem, why leave a comfortable position and go to a village? But he went to lift up a small village school. That was the first time he surprised me," the entrepreneur wrote.
According to Rakhimbaev, over three years the principal restructured the school's operations, raised the level of teaching, and helped children improve their knowledge. Students who previously did not know English began to be admitted to Nazarbayev University. The average score on the international English language exam IELTS reached 6.0.
When the contract ended, Berikuly decided to stay in the village. The entrepreneur quoted him:
"You know, I decided to stay. Here, teachers, parents, and most importantly, the children believed in me. I cannot leave them."
Over time, the once half-empty school began to run out of space. According to Rakhimbaev, this prompted him, together with the akimat, to build a boarding school and sports complex at the school. Now gifted students from other districts and teachers can live there.
The entire village was invited to the opening of the new buildings. Four hundred people gathered at a single dastarkhan — children, parents, and teachers. The businessman also met with his fellow villagers and former classmates.
"The school has once again become the heart of the village, a place where both children and adults are drawn," Rakhimbaev wrote.
He dedicated the post to Teacher's Day and thanked educators for their work.
Aidyn Rakhimbaev is the founder and majority shareholder of the construction holding BI Group. Forbes estimates his fortune at $1.1 billion and ranks him ninth on the list of the wealthiest Kazakh businessmen.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Aidyn and Anar Rakhimbaev joined the international Giving Pledge initiative and committed to directing more than half of their fortune to charity.