In recent years, efforts have been undertaken to construct and rehabilitate schools in needy areas. The "100 schools, 100 hospitals” programme, announced by the President of Kazakhstan in 2007, has constructed 106 new schools providing more than 86 000 additional student places throughout the country. The purpose of the programme, financed largely through Republican budget targeted development transfers (TDTs), was threefold: (i) to reduce reliance on three-shift education; (ii) to reduce the number of schools in emergency condition; and (iii) to decrease the deficit of student places in schools (IAC, 2014).