Four students fell ill after a lesson at a school in Pavlodar, where unknown pills with a pungent odor were found in a classroom. The incident occurred on October 12, according to infohub.kz.
The city's education department said that following an examination, the children's condition was assessed as satisfactory. The school administration conducted an internal investigation, which resulted in disciplinary measures against the employees responsible.
The Pavlodar Region health department clarified that on that day, three schoolchildren born in 2014 and 2015 sought treatment at the regional children's hospital with signs of poisoning, presumably from inhalation. A pediatrician examined the children and sent them home for outpatient observation.
Additional details were obtained by Kazinform. According to the agency, the incident occurred at School No. 11 during a math lesson. Sixth-graders found two pills under a desk, one of which was crushed. The children began to feel unwell, and the teacher sent them to the school nurse.
The school claimed the pills were dichlor for washing floors, but the cleaners use a different brand of product. It was not possible to determine who brought the find. The math teacher received a disciplinary penalty. The next day, the children returned to classes.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that in Almaty, 55 students of the Republican Physics and Mathematics School were hospitalized with signs of acute intestinal infection. During an inspection of the school cafeteria, sanitary doctors found violations of food storage conditions and seized dairy products without documents. The operation of the boarding school and food unit was temporarily suspended. Police opened a criminal case, and the cause of the children's illness is being investigated.