She noted that there are medical professionals working at the school who participate in menu planning, and a list of prohibited products has been published.
“Salads served to children should include no more than three types of vegetables, dressed with oil. Spices, sauces, ketchup, mayonnaise, concentrates, and flavor enhancers are not allowed in children's nutrition. All ingredients must be natural, and salt and sugar are not recommended to be placed on tables, as in other public catering establishments,” Kurmanova added.
Expert in school medicine Baktygul Jumagulova emphasized that children often do not know which foods are healthy and which are harmful, so adults must play a key role in this matter.
“It is difficult to say whether all staff at private schools undergo training at the Institute for Retraining and Advanced Training. There are many new methods in the field of nutrition and service,” she noted.
Jumagulova also mentioned that private educational institutions are subordinate only to the Ministry of Education.
The Center for State Sanitary and Epidemiological Expertise can inspect private schools once a year. If all norms are followed, inspections may occur once every two or three years.
“We try to conduct inspections annually, as it concerns the health of children. As for the 'Seitek STEM' school, it was registered in 2023 and has been operating for only two years. By law, we are not allowed to inspect newly opened educational institutions for three years,” Mira Kurmanova added.
Recall that on October 31, a mass poisoning occurred at the private school "Seitek STEM," resulting in 84 people being affected, including four educators. Thirteen of them were hospitalized, while the others received outpatient care. Later, the patients were discharged from the hospital.
For violating sanitary norms, the school's administration was fined twice, totaling 28,000 soms. Currently, the kitchen is closed until the results of laboratory tests are received.
