About 30 representatives of private supplementary education organizations, sports clubs, creative studios and learning centers gathered outside the Astana city administration building on November 4 to protest the mandatory introduction of Face ID to confirm children's attendance at clubs and sections. City officials explained the purpose of the facial recognition system and how minors' personal data is protected, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the Astana administration, the appeal from private supplementary education representatives stems from the introduction of mandatory identification of children via Face ID under the QOSYMSHA.KZ program.
After the group gathered outside the building, representatives of the education department and the educational-methodological center for children's supplementary education organized a meeting with service providers. Participants were briefed on the purpose of the technology, the legal grounds for its use and the attendance-tracking procedure.
The administration noted, however, that no appointment had been scheduled with the deputy akim and no meeting with him had been arranged. Despite the discussion, some of those gathered continued to voice their disagreement. Citing a breach of public order, police officers took the participants to the Saryarka district police department to clarify the circumstances. Official warnings were issued to some citizens.
The administration explained that the facial recognition system is needed to monitor children's actual attendance, improve transparency in the use of budget funds and prevent fictitious attendance records and payments for services that were not actually provided.
Recall that since 2025, Astana has been running a pilot project for a unified state order for children's supplementary education. It provides for personalized financing of educational, creative and sports services.
Under the project, electronic mechanisms including QR codes and biometric identification are used to confirm attendance. Their use is set out in the pilot project's algorithm, approved by joint orders of the authorized state bodies dated May 28-30, 2025, and in paragraph 9 of the accession agreement.
Face ID currently operates in pilot mode at two private supplementary education organizations in Astana. The equipment was provided free of charge, with no budget funds used for its purchase. According to the administration, no complaints from parents or children have been received during the pilot rollout.
The department separately stressed that the collection and processing of minors' personal and biometric data are carried out in accordance with Kazakhstan's Law "On Personal Data and Its Protection." Similar attendance-monitoring mechanisms are used in several other regions of the country: Atyrau, Karaganda, Kyzylorda and Aktobe regions.