Dinara Kulibayeva. Photo: foundation.kz
The Nursultan Nazarbayev Educational Foundation, established by his middle daughter Dinara Kulibayeva, will contest the transfer of the Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU) to state ownership, ORDA.kz reports, citing the foundation’s press service.
The foundation stated that it acquired 100% of KBTU’s shares in 2018 through an open competition. At the time, the university was in a «crisis state,» and over 18 billion tenge (approximately $37 million) had since been invested in its development.
As of February 27, the Nursultan Nazarbayev Educational Foundation is no longer listed as a shareholder of the university. The organization emphasized that this change occurred «by court decision, regardless of the foundation’s will.» It now intends to appeal the ruling «within the legal framework."
KBTU was established in 2000 through a partnership between the Kazakh government, the British Embassy in Kazakhstan, and the British Council. From 2003, the university’s sole shareholder was the national oil company KazMunayGas. In 2010–2011, three research institutes were transferred to KBTU, and in 2018, the university was sold to the Nursultan Nazarbayev Educational Foundation. Last year, reports emerged that the prosecution was attempting to challenge the transaction.
KBTU consistently ranks among Kazakhstan’s top universities. The university’s building, located in central Almaty, was constructed in 1957. During the Soviet era, it housed the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR, and later, the Parliament of Kazakhstan.
According to KazTAG, the decision to change the university’s ownership came two months after a major fire broke out in the building. The fire, which started on the evening of January 11, covered an area of 120 square meters.
