Kazakhstan strengthens physical protection of schools

The Committee for Children’s Rights Protection is going to conduct exercises across all schools in Kazakhstan. The key goal of the exercises is to raise the level of preparedness for a potential terrorist attack. The move followed the attack on pupils in the town of Petropavlovsk, the agency said.

School personnel, security guards and pupils are expected to be trained in how to respond in the case of an emergency.

«We are going to check security equipment such as buttons, turnstiles and security cameras. We are also going to examine how fast private security contractors can respond to a panic button,» Nasymzhan Ospanova, head of the committee said.

The ministry believes that such training should be conducted on a regular basis in order to prevent terrorist attacks.

The cabinet ordered an assessment of security systems in all schools within the country after the attack in Petropavlovsk. This review revealed shortages of panic buttons and video surveillance in some schools. In April, Minister of Enlightenment Gani Beysenbayev said that all facilities within the educational system are expected to be equipped with security systems by September 1, 2023.

On February 13, 2023, a ninth-grade pupil of School No.4 in Petropavlovsk wounded three children with a knife and a hand axe he brought to the school with him. He was immediately arrested by the local police, who are still investigating the incident.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, only half of Kazakhstani schools are equipped with licensed security systems. In March, Beysembayev said that 1,900 educational organizations signed agreements with security agencies, while a panic button was installed in 2,400 educational organizations. As of today, there are about 7,000 schools in Kazakhstan.