Harvard acceptance letter controversy: Education officials in Pavlodar respond

Tengrinews.kz – The story of a schoolgirl from Pavlodar who reportedly received admission offers from Harvard and other foreign universities has taken a new turn. The Pavlodar Region Education Department says the reported offers, including one from Harvard Extension School, require further verification. The girl's parents have already contacted the police, while educators have urged the public to refrain from bullying the teenager on social media.
Social media posts recently circulated about a 17-year-old student from Pavlodar who speaks nine languages, participated in the international FLEX exchange program and reportedly received admission offers from several foreign universities, including Harvard Extension School.
However, a Kazakh Threads user, Daniyal Suleimen, questioned the claims about her admission to Harvard.
According to Suleimen, he became suspicious of the timeline. The girl was said to have received an admission offer in October, although even early application decisions are generally announced in December. He also said he could not find any information about a scholarship with the name previously mentioned in reports about the student.
In his post, Suleimen shared screenshots of correspondence he said he had exchanged with university representatives. According to the response he published, the admission and scholarship letter reportedly received by the Kazakh student was not authentic.

The schoolgirl's mother, Asiya Okasova, subsequently recorded a video statement suggesting that her daughter's email account, where the admission offers had been received, may have been hacked.

"As for the situation with Harvard and the invitations from other foreign universities, we will look into it. I think someone hacked my child's email and played a cruel joke on her. As a mother, I want to stand up for my child. Please understand that my daughter is a minor. I wouldn't make something like this up. I know my child. We wouldn't try to become famous around the world this way. That would be ridiculous. Someone simply hacked her email and made fun of her," the mother said in a video circulated on social media.

The Pavlodar Region Education Department said the student had received the letter from Harvard Extension School on October 30.

"According to the student, the letter contained information about the possibility of beginning studies in the fall semester of 2027 under the Bachelor of Liberal Arts (ALB) program, primarily in an online format, as well as receiving a full scholarship for the duration of her studies. According to the family, the student also received invitations and offers from several other foreign higher education institutions. The information regarding these offers, including the one from Harvard Extension School, currently requires further clarification and verification," the department said.

Education officials also confirmed that they had removed a post about the student's achievements from the department's official page while the circumstances were being investigated.

"The publication was intended to support her educational aspirations and promote academic development opportunities among students. After reports emerged questioning the authenticity of the information about her admission to Harvard University, the material was removed from the department's official page. We are currently working with the school and the family to clarify the circumstances surrounding the letter and the content of the offers received from foreign educational institutions," the department explained.

The department also confirmed that the schoolgirl had received a partial scholarship to study at Lomonosov Moscow State University.
The Pavlodar Region Education Department urged the media and the public to avoid spreading unverified information and to refrain from bullying the underage student on social media.