The Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek, spoke about a study regarding the impact of a unified time zone on the people of Kazakhstan, as reported by a Tengrinews.kz correspondent.
Sayasat Nurbek stated that the Ministry of Health has submitted a request to conduct a special scientific study on the effects of a unified time zone on Kazakhstani citizens. Leading institutes in the country are expected to be involved in the research.
"We plan to involve leading institutes, including the Institute of Geography, as well as institutes from the Ministry of Health that will focus on the physiological and medical aspects of the study. The Higher Scientific and Technical Commission will hold a meeting soon where we will present this topic. Upon approval, we will immediately announce a competition and commence the research," the minister replied.
The head of the ministry could not specify how much funding would be needed for the research. However, he clarified that "the request has been made," and promised to "provide further details on the amount."
Recall that earlier, Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova was asked about the reduction of daylight. In particular, the official was questioned whether the time change had led to depression among Kazakhstanis. The minister reported that a special monitoring group has been established to track such concerns from citizens and their health status.
It is worth noting that on the night of February 29 to March 1 Kazakhstan transitioned to a unified time zone.
Three months later, on June 7, a petition to abolish the time change gathered the required 50,000 signatures.
In August, the Ministry of Trade and Integration announced its final decision regarding the time zone petition. At that time, Minister Arman Shakkaliev stated that based on justified scientific international research showing the positive effects of standard time zones and the lack of confirming data on negative health impacts, the decision was made to reject the petition.
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