At the Republican August conference of educators, the creation of the country's first Directorate for the Protection of Children's Rights in the Aktobe region was announced. The project is being implemented jointly with the Commissioner for Children's Rights and will be gradually introduced across all regions of the country.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Education, the creation of the directorate is aimed at strengthening the work of guardianship and trusteeship bodies.
"The new directorates will become a key link in protecting the rights and interests of children. Their task is to respond more quickly to appeals, help families, and coordinate the work of all services responsible for the well-being of the child in the region," the statement said.
It is noted that the directorate will have departments for the protection of children's rights in districts, cities of regional and republican significance, as well as in the capital.
"We are creating a system where every child will be under reliable protection. This will allow us to quickly resolve issues and help children on the ground," said Nasymzhan Ospanova, chairperson of the Committee for the Protection of Children's Rights of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
At the same time, the Ministry of Education has established a norm — one specialist from the guardianship authorities per 5,000 children. As a result, the number of specialists has increased from 303 to 896 people since the beginning of the year. They are undergoing training and the introduction of uniform work standards.
The creation of the directorate is particularly relevant in light of recent high-profile incidents involving children in preschool institutions. Recall that in April, in the Ulytau region, a kindergarten teacher was sentenced after she hit a child on the head and lips and then pushed him because the child had put watercolour paint in his mouth. The court imposed corrective labour and ordered compensation to be paid to the child's mother.
In February, in the Atyrau region, a teacher at a private kindergarten was fined for hitting a 5-year-old child during lessons. Afterwards, a haematoma was discovered on the child's right thigh. The court found her guilty and imposed a fine of 314,000 tenge.
In June, parents of children at Kindergarten No. 21 "Gulder" in Astana reported violence by a nursery nurse. Over the course of six months, the children were subjected to systematic beatings.
Relatives claim that the teacher, head teacher, and methodologist knew about what was happening but took no action. Video evidence from the kindergarten's internal cameras spread on social media. The footage shows a woman in uniform hitting children on the head and body, and throwing them onto the floor.
In early August, a criminal investigation was launched in Atyrau following an incident at the private kindergarten "Ansar", where a five-year-old girl was injured. The child was hospitalised with a closed head injury, concussion, and fractures to both arms.
The girl's mother received a call from the kindergarten informing her that her daughter had fallen ill. Representatives of the institution explained this as a fall down the stairs. However, when the parents requested the CCTV footage, they were told the cameras were not working at the time.