President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov said he intends to work toward introducing allowance for all children under the age of 16. He made the statement during a session of the Zhogorku Kenesh.
The president was responding to remarks by MP Dastan Bekeshev, who noted that the government’s decision to provide allowance to all children under three years old had been very positively received by the public.
Bekeshev also pointed out that many families struggle to pay fees for the Nationwide Testing (ORT). With the test costing 400–700 soms, the expense can become a serious burden for families with two or three children. He asked the authorities to support such families.
Sadyr Japarov recalled that during the Soviet period allowances were provided to children up to the age of 16 regardless of a family’s financial status.
«In the past, no one asked whether you were rich or poor. After gaining independence, we had to consider the capabilities of our economy: not to provide allowances to wealthy families, but to support those who truly need assistance,» he said.
According to the president, the country currently does not have the financial capacity to provide allowances to all children under 16, but the authorities plan to gradually move toward implementing such a measure.
