Officials will face fines for poor nutrition in schools.
The Minister of Education, Gani Beisembaev, shared the results of the national monitoring of school nutrition. According to him, there is still insufficient oversight on this issue in the country, as reported by Orda.kz.
https://orda.kz/chinovnikov-budut-shtrafovat-za-plohoe-pitanie-v-shkolah-394601/2024-11-19 07:32:57
“The akimats of the Zhambyl, Mangistau, Almaty, Atyrau regions, and Shymkent are not giving adequate attention to organizing quality nutrition in schools. (...) Currently, the ministry is working on introducing administrative responsibility for officials who violate supplier selection requirements when procuring school meal services,” said Gani Beisembaev.
The minister also proposed that the Ministry of Health develop amendments to the legislation regarding the implementation of ongoing monitoring of the sanitary and epidemiological conditions in schools without prior notification.
“It is essential to implement daily monitoring of food quality by school medical staff,” he added.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov expressed his outrage over the school meal situation in Kazakhstan. According to him, despite the measures being taken, the quality of food provided to children needs serious reconsideration. He pointed out the weak coordination and control from the ministries of education and health.
“I instructed to conduct a monitoring of all school canteens for compliance with sanitary and epidemiological requirements, as well as to check the staff's work permits, compliance with expiration dates, and storage conditions of food products. I note the delay in fulfilling this instruction from the Ministry of Health. Additionally, the akimats are not conducting the necessary work on modernizing and equipping school canteens,” noted Olzhas Bektenov.
Currently, 403 schools lack canteens, meaning that children do not receive complete hot meals.
“The ministries of education and health, with the involvement of experts and scientists, should adopt a nutrition standard by the end of the year, including a typical prospective menu, even for schools without canteens. Since 2015, school meals have been exempt from the Law on Public Procurement. The ministries of education and finance should take measures to automate the registry of unscrupulous suppliers and establish administrative responsibility for all participants in these procurements,” the Prime Minister added.
The Prime Minister also noted that the cost of meals for one child does not exceed an average of 500 tenge.
“Regional akimats should allocate funds by the end of the year to increase the cost of meals, taking into account the inflation rate,” he concluded.