Astana Education Department Rejects 'Ghost Children' Claims at Duman Kindergarten

The scandal surrounding Astana's state kindergarten No. 8, Duman, has reached an official conclusion: the Astana Education Department has released the findings of its investigation, which confirmed neither "ghost children" nor embezzlement, but uncovered a range of other violations—including an outsider's access to employees' personal data. This was reported by infohub.kz.

The probe was prompted by a video appeal from kindergarten employee Arai Kusainova that spread on social media. She claimed to have found "ghost children" and possible embezzlement in the kindergarten's documents, and after complaining to the education department and an internal inquiry, she was unexpectedly fired.

According to the department, the kindergarten's teachers were assigned duties outside their job descriptions. The inspection also revealed safety violations at the kindergarten.

"In particular, an unauthorized outsider entered the premises without permission or supervision. It turned out he had previously been married to the head of the kindergarten. The man did not work at the kindergarten and had no contract granting him access to the organization's documents. Nevertheless, he gained access to employees' personal data," the education department said.

The department said the violations were confirmed by statements from a methodologist and a security guard, as well as CCTV footage.

"The inspection established facts of providing, disseminating, and ensuring an outsider's access to employees' personal data without proper authorization," the education department said.

As a result, the employment contract with the head of the kindergarten was terminated. The department cited three grounds for dismissal: violation of Kazakhstan's Law on the Status of Teachers, the Labor Code, the Law on Personal Data and Its Protection, and the rules for anti-terrorist security of preschool organizations.

At the same time, the education department's inspection did not confirm the claims of "ghost children" or possible embezzlement.

Earlier, Kursiv reported that a kindergarten teacher in Astana was accused of beating a girl.