Knowledge and skills — the main capital of development

**Knowledge and Skills — The Main Capital of Development**

Today, the attention paid by our state to the education system, especially to increasing the modern knowledge of youth, enriching their intellectual potential, and raising them to be mature individuals who keep pace with the times, is gaining increasingly greater significance as a long-term investment aimed at the development of our country.

In his speech at the solemn ceremony dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the state independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan on August 28 of this year, the Head of our State put forward 7 national programs aimed at ensuring the development of our country in the near and long term.

One of their primary and strategic directions is to turn knowledge and skills into the main capital of future development. Indeed, in the modern world, competition is taking place not only for natural wealth or financial resources, but also for educated, skilled, innovative, and highly capable people.

From this point of view, bringing the education system to a new level of quality, creating opportunities for every child to receive a decent education, and raising the status and professional potential of teachers and educators is one of the most important factors determining the future development of our country.

In particular, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the transformation carried out in the preschool and school education system over the last ten years under the leadership of the Head of our State has brought the sector to a completely new appearance and a new stage.

As a result, while the enrollment rate in preschool education was 27 percent in 2016, today it has reached 78 percent.

At the same time, during the current year, it is planned to bring the enrollment rate to 99.3 percent by involving more than 811 thousand 6-year-old children in school preparation.

It is also no secret that within the framework of the "Aqlvoy" project, which is of great importance in increasing children's enrollment in preschool education, the fact that this type of education is reaching remote and distant areas is highly appreciated by our compatriots.

To date, 648 mobile groups have been established in 216 mahallas located in such remote areas of our country, and more than 10 thousand children have been covered by preschool education.

The number of educators in the field of preschool education and their level of qualification are also increasing year by year. For example, while the total number of educators in preschool education organizations was 58.4 thousand in 2017, today this indicator has reached 179.5 thousand.

During the past period of 2026 alone, 13,779 new child places were created due to the establishment of 118 preschool education organizations based on PPP (Public-Private Partnership), and 42,790 places were created as a result of the establishment of 1,100 family-based non-state preschool education organizations, making a total of 56,569 new child places.

In order to consistently continue educational processes and create decent conditions for students, it is necessary to constantly develop the infrastructure of the education sector, and work in this direction is regularly carried out by our state.

In particular, in 2024-2025, construction and repair work was carried out in a total of 1,379 general education schools, and as a result, a total of 400.7 thousand new student places were created in general education schools, with nearly 6.9 trillion soums allocated for these works.

This year as well, construction and repair work is being carried out in 768 schools within the framework of all programs. It is planned to allocate 5.9 trillion soums from the budget for these purposes.

I would like to emphasize that raising the young men and women, who are the future of our country, as comprehensively mature and educated individuals, and bringing their intellectual potential to international arenas is becoming more important and urgent today than ever before.

In this regard, the great attention paid to science olympiads in Uzbekistan and the transparent system created are the reasons for our great achievements. In particular, it is enough to mention that the youth of our country won 20 medals — 1 gold, 8 silver, and 11 bronze — in 5 prestigious international olympiads this year.

In 2026, a total of 228 medals — 38 gold, 82 silver, and 108 bronze — were won by our talented students in 28 prestigious international and regional olympiads.

These results show that the conditions for identifying and systematically preparing talented youth, and properly encouraging winning students and their teachers in our country are yielding results.

The main goal of the consistent and continuous reforms in the preschool and school education system is to increase the quality of education in our schools and to ensure that our children acquire high knowledge and skills.

To this end, a total of nearly 2,200 foreign specialists have been attracted by the ministry to general secondary education schools to teach foreign languages during the 2023-2026 academic years.

In accordance with Decree No. PF-22 of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated February 16, 2026, it is planned to bring the number of foreign specialists attracted to general education institutions to 2,000 during the 2026-2027 academic year.

The "Foreign Language for the Future" project, introduced in the city of Tashkent to further improve the quality of teaching foreign languages in schools, is also yielding positive results today.

During the 2025-2026 academic year, within the framework of this project, assessment processes on foreign language proficiency skills were organized among 11th-grade students studying in general education schools in Tashkent, and more than 10 thousand students recorded B1 and higher results.

At this point, I would like to touch upon the activities of educational institutions under the system of the Agency for Specialized Educational Institutions, which is another important link in the education system.

While initially 16 educational organizations operated in this system established in 2019, today their number has increased 15 times and reached 249.

Currently, in these schools, about 88 thousand students are being educated by more than 9 thousand educators based on modern educational programs. Also, the practice of gradually teaching STEM subjects in English is being expanded in creative and specialized schools.

At the same time, the "President's Talented Children" national program, aimed at early identification of talented youth and their targeted preparation for prestigious foreign higher education institutions, has been launched, and 3,000 students have been involved in special preparation within the program.

The results of the ongoing reforms are also clearly reflected in the achievements of students in the international arena. During 2025, students of the Agency's system won 127 medals — 24 gold, 46 silver, and 57 bronze — in prestigious international and regional science olympiads.

In the 2025-2026 academic year, 34 11th-grade students of President, creative, and specialized schools were admitted ahead of schedule to higher education institutions in the world's TOP-300 on a 100% scholarship basis.

In particular, students of the specialized school named after Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, Elbek Zohidjonov and Asilbek Sunnatov, were admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Dilafruz Sobirova, a student of the President School in Fergana, was admitted to Harvard University on a full scholarship.

In general, I would not be mistaken to say that the extensive and vital reforms carried out in the field of preschool and school education at the initiative of the Head of our State are literally showing their results today.

It is true that the speech of the Head of our State at the solemn ceremony dedicated to the 35th anniversary of our independence, and turning knowledge and skills, defined therein as one of the important programs, into the main capital of future development, is truly becoming our great and noble goal today.

And it is natural that these vital initiatives will serve as an important foundation for changing the life and lifestyle of each of our compatriots, and for our youth to grow up as worthy, harmoniously developed generations in the future.