NUR-SULTAN / ex ASTANA (Xinhua) — Up to 2.6 mln children in Kazakhstan will be tele-schooled for the upcoming academic year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s education minister said Tuesday.

“By September 1, more than 500,000 children will be provided with computers”, Minister of Education and Science Askhat Aimagambetov said, adding that 24,000 teachers will have access to computers from their schools.

Authorities have also begun the preparation of 6,000 video lessons, the minister declared.

Most university courses will be presented in a remote format, with 70% of subjects to be taught online, Aimagambetov said.

Kazakhstan has extended its coronavirus lockdown till mid-August, when restrictions will be eased gradually. As of Tuesday, the country has reported 93,820 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,058 deaths.