Tokayev: Authorities grossly violate law on status of teachers

Tengrinews.kz - The President proposed amendments to the Law on the Status of Teachers to better protect educators’ rights, citing Akorda.
Speaking at the August Teachers’ Conference, Tokayev said that the protection of teachers’ rights must always remain a priority.

“In my speech, I have already said that teachers must be freed from tasks unrelated to their main professional duties. However, in many cases, local authorities grossly violate the requirements of the law. The Prosecutor’s Office must put a stop to such violations. I also believe it is inappropriate to punish teachers immediately for any accident involving children,” said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

According to Tokayev, if such an incident occurs outside of school or is due to parental negligence, the teacher should not be held responsible.

“A principal and teachers were held accountable and dismissed over a tragic incident involving school graduates in the Almaty region. I believe the ministry was right to stand up for the school’s administration and teachers. We must ensure such cases do not happen again. I propose introducing amendments to the Law on the Status of Teachers to protect educators’ rights. The state’s task is to raise the authority and status of teachers in society as much as possible,” Tokayev said.

“One of my first decisions as President in 2019 concerned teachers“ - Tokayev