Governor of oil-producing oblast of Atyrau pressurizing oil companies to build child care centers across the region

Atyrau oblast governor Bergey Ryskaliyev believes that oil producing companies of the region are responsible for providing their employees’ children with kindergardens, Interfax-Kazakhstan Agency reports. “Since last year we have been raising the issue of having the oil producing companies build kindergardens for their employees’ children. We have approached heads of such companies with respective requests (…) As they are not willing to do that (…) I have issued an order to have all children of employees of large-scaled enterprises expelled from the government-funded pre-school child care centers”, Mr. Ryskaliyev said July 19. The oblast governor elaborated that as compared to medical staff and teachers of the region, oilmen employed with oil producing companies enjoy a salary that is a few times higher. “Oil producing enterprises are capable of building and maintaining kindergardens for their employees’ children. Government-funded kindergardens should first of all accommodate children from underprivileged families and children of those employed with the public sector”, he elaborated. In this context the oblast governor tasked the local branch of the country’s Ministry of Education “to start expelling children of oilmen starting from today”. “If we start expelling such children, their parents will be demanding that the leadership of their companies take measures (…) heads of oil producing companies have a week to come up with ideas of how to handle the issue”, he summed up.