School directors in Uzbekistan will be prohibited from being summoned to meetings without approval from the ministry

School Principals in Uzbekistan to Be Banned from Being Summoned to Meetings Without Ministry Approval

First Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Education and Science of Uzbekistan Erkinjon Turdimov announced a ban on summoning school principals to meetings without prior agreement with the ministry.

"Summoning school principals to meetings, including at khokimiyats (local administration offices), is strictly prohibited. Participation in any meeting is possible only upon agreement with the ministry. Only after this can a principal attend a meeting," Turdimov stated.

According to the minister, heads of educational institutions should attend to their direct responsibilities rather than wasting time on numerous meetings.

"A school should focus on education, a kindergarten — on raising children. They should not be going to meetings. If someone needs to be invited to a meeting, there is a business manager, after all. Why summon a school principal to the khokimiyat in the first place?" he said.

As an example, Turdimov cited a case from his previous work at a khokimiyat. According to him, he had repeatedly forbidden one of the heads of educational institutions from attending meetings, yet the person kept coming, citing instructions from other officials.

"I told him: 'I'll break your legs if you go to a meeting'… And he still went. I ask: 'Why did you come?' He answers: 'They told me to come'… I tell him: 'Are my words like medicine to you? Then take out your phone, turn on the voice recorder, and record. I'll explain everything to you in detail,'" the minister recounted.

He stressed that this ban must be observed regardless of who invites school leaders to meetings.

At the meeting, Erkinjon Turdimov also discussed plans to implement two major projects in the education sector, specifically in higher and preschool education.

During the meeting, the minister listened to proposals from entrepreneurs working in private education and advocated for reviewing the licensing procedure for non-state schools and kindergartens.

In his view, the requirement to obtain a separate license from the Ministry of Education and Science raises questions if the facility has already passed inspections by authorized bodies and received the necessary permits.

"If the sanitary-epidemiological service, construction, fire, and other relevant authorities have checked everything and issued permits, then on what grounds does the ministry issue a license? What exactly is it checking? In general, ministry licensing for opening private kindergartens and schools needs to be abolished," Turdimov stated.

Turdimov also criticized officials who failed to address the problems faced by private educational institutions. He warned that ministry employees who do not fulfill their duties could lose their positions.

Separately, the work of the construction department of Samarkand region came under criticism at the meeting. Later, the head of the department clarified that there are 522 problematic issues in the region related to construction documentation, five of which concern private educational institutions.

In addition, the minister announced plans to launch a dedicated electronic platform for receiving appeals from educational organizations.

According to him, the necessary conditions have already been created, and the main task now is to establish discipline and increase accountability.