Safeguarding in international schools in Kyrgyzstan: a DSL guide

The Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic regulates schools. Under Article 23 of the Law on Education (11 August 2023, No 179), educational activity needs a licence, with listed exceptions. State and municipal general schools are exempt, so a private school should expect to need one.

In March 2026 the ministry posted a procedure for licence control of private general education organisations. The page is in Kyrgyz. Ask the ministry or local counsel which licence and which checks apply to your school.

Accreditation is a separate step: Article 24 makes it voluntary for general schools, and the school picks the agency. The education authority keeps a register of recognised agencies. Ask whether your accreditor is on it, and check its child protection standard.

Two Bishkek international schools publish their accreditation. QSI International School of Bishkek lists the Middle States Association (MSA). Bishkek International School lists the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

The main law is the Code on Children (10 July 2012, No 100). Article 4 lists protection from all forms of violence as a basic principle. Article 16 says people who teach children face liability if they attack a child's honour or dignity.

The Family Code (30 August 2003, No 201) says parents' methods of upbringing must exclude cruel, rude or degrading treatment (Article 70). The Law on Education bars teachers from violence against students (Article 44).

The law keeps moving. Parliament passed a new Child Code in July 2021, but a December 2023 report says it would not be signed. The register still shows the 2012 Code in force.

These are unofficial English readings of Russian texts on the Ministry of Justice register, read on 19 October 2026. Other laws, such as the 2017 family violence law, were not reviewed. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

On the texts reviewed, yes. Article 99 of the Code on Children says educational institutions and their staff with upbringing duties must report signs of violence in a child. They report to law enforcement and to the local unit of the state child protection body.

Anyone who hides the fact of violence is liable under the law. The Family Code adds a general duty in Article 61. Officials of organisations and other citizens who learn of a threat to a child's life or health must tell the local child protection unit.

Article 34 sets a two-day limit for telling that unit about a child in a difficult life situation. Article 5 counts child victims of violence in that group.

Article 102 covers a child who is a victim of violence and faces a threat to life or health. The people who find this out must see that the child goes to a safe place set by the child protection body.

None of these articles carves out private or international schools. Ask counsel how they apply to you, and compare other countries in mandatory reporting laws for international schools.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 112 first. Then follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your DSL the same day. Keep these contacts where staff and students can read them.

• 112: the unified dispatch service, shown on the Ministry of Emergency Situations website.
• 111: the children's helpline, shown on the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Migration website.
• The local child protection unit, for the legal report. Ask counsel for the office and phone that cover your district.
• Law enforcement, for the second report under Article 99. This guide did not verify a police number, so confirm it locally.
• Your DSL: tell them the same day, every time.

The laws reviewed name no school-level safeguarding lead. The DSL role comes from your accreditor and your own policy.

Many school policies send every concern to the DSL, who decides on outside referrals. Article 99 puts the duty on the institution and its staff. A delay at the DSL does not remove it.

The International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) publishes guidance for international schools. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is guidance for England and has no legal force in Kyrgyzstan. Read which parts of KCSIE travel abroad.

One procedure can serve both. Staff tell the DSL the same day. The DSL, or the Head if the DSL is away, makes both legal reports at once and records the time.

Any adult can report directly if the DSL cannot be reached or the concern is about the DSL. Have local counsel check the wording.

The Digital Code (31 July 2025, No 178) now holds the personal data rules. It took effect six months after its enacting law was published on 5 August 2025, and the 2008 personal information law lost force.

Articles 77 to 91 cover personal data. Processing needs a legal ground, such as a legal duty, a contract or a legitimate interest. Consent is needed where no ground applies (Article 79).

Health, sex life and ethnic origin are special categories with a general ban and listed exceptions (Article 80). Children's data has its own rule (Article 81). A parent or guardian must consent unless a listed ground applies, and children aged 14 or over can consent within their legal capacity.

An organisation with more than ten employees must name a person responsible for data processing (Article 88). For transfers abroad, the regulator publishes a list of countries with adequate protection (Article 89). For other countries, a transfer needs a listed ground, such as consent or a contract with adequate protections.

No rule that data must stay inside Kyrgyzstan appears in these articles. Other parts of the Code or sector rules may apply, so ask counsel before you host safeguarding files abroad.

Staff and families often use Kyrgyz and Russian. The children's helpline listing names both languages. Write your reporting steps in both, and in English.

A report last updated in December 2023 says corporal punishment is unlawful in schools, though it found no explicit ban. It also found none for the home or day care. The 2023 Law on Education bars teachers from violence against students (Article 44).

Put an explicit ban in your code of conduct for every adult. UNICEF Kyrgyzstan describes violence against children as widespread and says taboos around sexual violence leave many cases unreported.

For hiring, ask local counsel which police certificate your school can request for staff hired in Kyrgyzstan, and how long it takes. For staff from abroad, ask for a certificate from each country where they lived. Read more on safer recruitment.

This list is a starting point for your first month. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current law with local counsel and the relevant authority, and see the first 90 days as a DSL.

• Ask counsel to confirm Articles 34, 99 and 102 of the Code on Children and Article 61 of the Family Code.
• Find the local child protection unit for your district and save its phone number and address.
• Write one reporting route in English, Russian and Kyrgyz, naming the DSL and the deputy.
• Post 112, 111 and the local police number where staff and students can read them.
• Name a person responsible for data processing and ask each supplier where safeguarding files are stored.
• Check your licence and the child protection standard of your accreditor.
• Train every adult, including drivers, guards and cleaners, in the languages they speak.