Parents of children at a kindergarten in the Novenky settlement of the Bayterek district of the West Kazakhstan region are accusing a middle-group nursery assistant of beating and abusing children.
According to the Telegram channel "Halyqstan", it all started when one of the girls complained to her mother that "the mean aunty locks me in the toilet".
"Honestly, I didn't believe my daughter at first. But soon she completely stopped going to the toilet on her own, started asking me to bring the potty out into the hallway, and only uses it if I stay nearby. And when I showed her a photo of the nursery assistant, trying to find out who was upsetting her, my daughter sobbed uncontrollably for about two hours and couldn't calm down," said the girl's mother, Dinara Gusmanova.
Dinara then began asking other parents if anything similar had happened to their children. It turned out that one of the parents had learned from their child that Dinara's daughter and several other children were locked in the toilet for being disobedient.
After this, the parents came to the kindergarten and demanded to see the CCTV footage. However, the acting director refused to provide it without a local police officer present. Later, in the presence of a police officer, the mothers finally saw the video and were horrified.
"The teacher hits the children, the nursery assistant hits and shakes the children, points at the toilet, like 'I'll lock you in there.' Sometimes she pinches them, sometimes she pushes them off a chair, then drags them somewhere and the video ends," Dinara Gusmanova recounted.
Another parent, Anna Yeryomina, confirmed Dinara Gusmanova's account.
"They take their food away, they hit them, they mistreat them. My son came home and said, 'Mum, they hit me.' I didn't believe it at first either. But it happened repeatedly. He started coming home with bruises on his legs and arms," shared Anna Yeryomina.
A special commission was convened regarding the incident, which heard all sides of the conflict and promised that the situation would be reviewed within the legal framework.
The police explained that they had launched a pre-trial investigation under the article concerning the improper fulfilment of childcare duties, combined with cruelty towards minors.
As part of the investigation, four parents whose children were allegedly beaten have already been questioned. The parents noted that a restriction order in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the area had been applied to the suspects.
For context, a video previously surfaced online from a private Almaty kindergarten "Akhlak", showing a teacher choking a 4-year-old child. Two other staff members were present in the room at the time. The abuse came to light after the child complained to their parents of being hit at kindergarten.
The press service of the Almaty Police Department stated that law enforcement had opened a criminal case on this matter. It was also reported that the branch of the kindergarten had temporarily suspended its operations. The suspect and the head of the institution were dismissed, and the director was fined.