This article raises the question of whether having a high value primary product resource, such as petroleum, makes a constructive contribution to economic and social development, and specifically to education. Although many scholars study the political and economic impact of oil on different societies, the impact on education remains an under-explored area of comparative educational research. It first summarizes the general issues, then it discusses the educational case of Kazakhstan following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The article provides information about Kazakh history and development as a newly independent republic in Central Asia. The article argues the importance of bringing education into the center of the oil and natural resource rich development debate.