Four workers of a school canteen in the village of Mangistau, Munaily District, Mangistau Region, have been sentenced for working without undergoing a medical examination. In September 2024, 462 schoolchildren were poisoned at this canteen.
According to Informburo.kz, the defendants admitted to purchasing fake medical certificates for 5,000 tenge. These stated that they had undergone medical examinations, fluorography, dermatological and bacteriological tests.
The court imposed a fine of 148,000 tenge on one of the workers, and 74,000 tenge on the others.
It will be recalled that the incident occurred on 6 September 2024 in the Beshshoky residential area of the village of Mangistau, Munaily District, Mangistau Region. Primary school children were massively poisoned after lunch in the canteen.
Minister of Health Akmaraal Alnazarova stated that 462 schoolchildren sought medical assistance. 96 of them were hospitalised. Following the incident, the Minister of Education, Gani Beisembayev, ordered inspections of all schools in the country.
Meanwhile, it emerged that the school canteen was run by sole trader "Shakenova D". It was reported that the company's annual revenue is estimated at 2.5 billion tenge. Most contracts with the company were awarded via single-source procurement.
On 16 September, laboratory tests revealed gross sanitary violations in the school's canteen: intestinal bacteria were found in 20% of samples, staphylococcus was detected in six employees, and two were found to be carriers of dysentery.
In October, Minister of Education Gani Beisembayev stated that following this incident, the head of the Mangistau Region Education Department resigned, and the deputy governor of the region received a reprimand. Furthermore, the school terminated its contract with the company providing the catering services.
In November, Beisembayev announced that his department and the Ministry of Health plan to develop a new nutrition standard for educational institutions, which they intend to introduce at the start of the new academic year.