Director of the National Testing Center Nurseit Baizhanov presented the new format of the Unified National Testing (UNT). This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.

This was announced by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. At a forum dedicated to the Day of Higher Education Workers, held at Qazaq AI Research University, the director of the National Testing Center spoke about the Admission Insight Test (AIT) project, which the center is implementing jointly with the international organization ETS. The project began in February 2026 and will continue until 2030.

Its goal is to update entrance exams and assessment approaches, taking into account changes in the education system and modern requirements.

"Knowledge is no longer a scarce resource. The scarce resource has become the ability to reason. An exam that tests the reproduction of knowledge today evaluates an action that artificial intelligence performs much faster than an applicant. Therefore, reforming the admission system is one of the most effective mechanisms for changing the entire education system. When the admission model changes, the entire system begins to change along with it," said Nurseit Baizhanov.

The AIT exam consists of two main parts:

  • 01Subject tests

The test is conducted in 14 specialized subjects. The tasks have been updated in accordance with state educational standards, with priority given to deep understanding of the learning material rather than memorization and reproduction of information.

  • 01Skills assessment test

This section includes five modules designed to assess applicants' key skills. In particular, critical thinking, academic writing and research skills, communication abilities, artificial intelligence literacy, quantitative and digital literacy, as well as creative and design thinking abilities are assessed. The last module is under development.

During the development of the new format, special attention was also paid to ensuring transparency. In April 2026, the National Testing Center and ETS jointly conducted a study with the participation of about 4 thousand respondents. In addition, eight focus groups and four in-depth discussions were organized in the city of Astana.

When developing the new admission system, the opinions of higher education institutions, teachers and other participants in the education sector will be taken into account.