Tengrinews.kz - Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev responded to the parents of second-shift students who are forced to return home in the dark.
“What will you answer to Kazakhstanis who pick up their children in absolute pitch darkness, calling the second shift in schools not the second, but the night shift?” the minister was asked at a government briefing.
Arman Shakkaliyev said that he is the father of four children and periodically picks them up from school himself.
"As a father of four, I pick up my children periodically, when I have time. I'll tell you that the second shift ends at 7:05 p.m. Last year, we also returned at dusk, well, not at dusk, but already in the dark. Last year and this year, our schedule has not changed. The second shift - the last lesson ends at 7:05 p.m. I picked them up myself, so that's what I'll say," the Minister of Trade replied.
The official added that his children get up in the morning without any problems.
"And many parents note this: in the morning, the children get up calmly. We gave them morning time, gave them the opportunity to get enough sleep and go to school when it's light. We need to talk about other changes, too," he said.
Recall: on the night of February 29 to March 1, Kazakhstan switched to a single time zone. Three months later, on June 7, a petition to cancel the time change gathered the required 50,000 signatures.
In August, the Ministry of Trade and Integration announced the final decision regarding the time zone petition. At that time, Minister Arman Shakkaliyev stated that based on substantiated scientific international studies on the positive effects of standard time zones and the absence of evidence of negative health impacts, a decision was made to deny the petition.
