According to the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Dushanbe, 47 criminal cases have been initiated against parents for violating the right to compulsory education for children in the first half of the year. The criminal cases were initiated under Article 164 (obstruction of obtaining basic compulsory general (nine-year) education) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Citizens on social media and independent observers have sharply criticized these actions of law enforcement agencies. They emphasize that instead of helping low-income families who cannot prepare their children for school and are forced to involve their children in work for survival, the state imposes huge fines (up to 1200 calculation indicators) and even assigns penalties of up to two years of imprisonment.
Critics believe that punitive measures cannot address the root of this problem — namely, poverty.