On 27 October, in the town of Kulsary, Zhylyoi District of Atyrau Region, parents who had sent their children to a holiday camp staged a mass protest outside the district akimat building.
According to the publication "Ak Zhaik", they reported that the children had discovered numerous cockroaches in the dormitories of the camp in the town of Zheleznovodsk.
"Our children went to a camp in Zheleznovodsk and already want to return home. All because the dormitories are full of cockroaches. They sent a video – the camp is unsanitary. We demand that our children be brought home," the parents said.
For his part, the head of the Education Department of Atyrau Region, Marat Abuov, stated that the insects entered the building due to the bad weather.
"From Kulsary, Zhylyoi District, 174 schoolchildren (113 boys and 61 girls) were sent for a holiday to the 'Geologist of Kazakhstan' health boarding house from 26 October to 4 November. The children arrived at the boarding house around 22:00 on 27 October. However, due to the weather that day, insects from the forest area entered the boarding house building. Disinfestation is currently underway, and in light of the situation, the urgent repatriation of the children is being organised," reported Marat Abuov.
For context, in August last year, the Prosecutor's Office of Kostanay Region discovered a recreation room with a billiard table and a sauna in a children's camp.In July 2023, it became known that schoolchildren from large families were given a free holiday at a private children's camp in Almaty Region, where they were placed in dirty rooms with old beds.
But the most scandalous case, which caused public outcry, occurred in Almaty in July of that year, where schoolchildren from socially vulnerable groups were housed in a sauna building instead of the promised camp.
After the violations were uncovered, the Deputy Head of the Almaty Education Department, Aydyn Sailaubay, reported that a monitoring group would be established in the city to more strictly oversee children's camps.
It has become known that the authorities have tightened the rules for service providers' applications, in particular, strengthened the requirements reflected in the technical specifications, and also added the necessity for employees to have mandatory teaching experience.