Nazarbayev University Exempt from New Endowment Funds Law, Education Minister Explains Why

The Majilis has approved amendments regulating endowment funds, aiming to introduce greater transparency.

The new rules require funds to undergo annual audits and publish full reports. Nazarbayev University and the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS) are not subject to the new law, Orda.kz reports.

Science and Higher Education Minister Sayasat Nurbek attributed this to legal technicalities.

The fact is that the Nazarbayev Foundation and the endowment fund linked to Nazarbayev University and Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools are governed by a separate law. To avoid a conflict between two equivalent laws — especially since the Nazarbayev University and Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools law already regulates endowment funds in detail — we simply included a clause stating that these matters fall under their own legal framework, Nurbek explained. 

When asked whether this looked like an attempt to shield the Nazarbayev Fund from the new bill, Nurbek insisted it was a matter of legal formality, nothing more.

These are two laws of equal standing. One cannot override the other. These are laws. If we had adopted a full-fledged Endowment Code, it could have consolidated everything. But again, this is purely a technical issue, he said.

The Minister added that many key prudential standards from the new legislation, such as requirements for management companies, still apply to the Nazarbayev Fund.

It’s already well-regulated. In fact, certain provisions in our legislation — including prudential standards and management company requirements — also apply to the Nazarbayev Fund law. So, there’s no conflict there. 

Earlier, Sayasat Nurbek also addressed allegations made by the former president of Nazarbayev University against the institution’s current leadership.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova