The President presented state awards to educators and announced measures for the development of education

The President presented state awards to educators and announced measures for the development of education

The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, held a meeting with educators on the eve of the Day of Teachers and Mentors, the press service of the head of state reported. He congratulated them on their professional holiday and presented state awards.

The head of state initiated the establishment of a separate state award named after Abdulla Avloni for leading educators at all levels of the education system. The first presentation of this award will take place on the eve of October 1 next year.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that the development of education is "the most important link in the process of building New Uzbekistan." Over the past ten years, kindergartens with 1.8 million places and schools with 1.5 million places have been built, and more than 10,000 educational institutions have been modernized. At the same time, the president noted, the content and quality of education are more important than the development of physical infrastructure.

"We have returned our children from the cotton fields to their school desks, and teachers to the educational process," the head of state said.

Since 2018, the development of new-generation textbooks based on foreign experience has begun, and textbooks up to the 8th grade have been updated. By 2030, the updating of textbooks for high school classes will be completed.

Over five years, the number of teachers holding international and national certificates has grown from 29,000 to 143,000, and the shortage of educators in schools has been reduced threefold. According to the president, today 40,000 teachers receive a salary of $1,000, and another 1,500 educators receive over $2,000. He proposed expanding the "Teacher of the Year" competition to include kindergarten educators and masters of technical colleges.

The president noted that a school graduate should enter adult life already possessing a profession and speaking a foreign language. Additional powers in this direction will be granted to school principals. Conditions will also be created for entrepreneurs ready to cooperate. A commission will be organized on the issues of vocational training for school-age youth and ensuring continuity between levels of education.

For the technological development of the economy, special attention will be paid to the in-depth study of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. In classes with more than 25 students, the teaching of these subjects will be organized by dividing them into two groups.

Teachers with a national certificate will be paid a 50 percent bonus. Annually, leading teachers from 208 districts and cities will receive prizes, and a thousand educators will undergo internships abroad. Teachers who have trained Olympiad winners will directly receive the highest qualification category.

Subject Olympiads will be held for primary school students. Starting next year, the winners of the competition among 4th-grade students will be awarded computers, and their teachers will receive cash prizes depending on the stage of the competition. From the new academic year, mathematics, computer science, and natural sciences will be taught entirely in English in 100 schools. Teachers and educators of preschool preparation groups participating in the implementation of this project will be granted a 100 percent bonus.

A "quality index" will be introduced to evaluate schools. Educational institutions will be divided into categories depending on learning outcomes and the potential of educators. Schools that help other institutions transition to a higher category will receive a 30 percent bonus for their teaching staff. In teacher professional development, instead of mandatory monthly courses, professional development vouchers will be introduced. Depending on their own results, educators will be able to independently choose training lasting from 18 to 72 hours.

The president also announced measures to support private schools amid growing demand for school places. Soft loans and subsidies will be provided for the creation of private schools in 52 districts with a high load on the education system. Vacant state buildings will be transferred to private schools for free rent for a period of 10 years, and half of the costs for international accreditation will be covered. For parents whose children study in private schools, the non-taxable income threshold will be doubled.

In addition, attention to creating an inclusive educational environment for children with special needs will be strengthened. Over two years, the number of inclusive schools has grown almost fivefold, reaching 3,591. The experience of the multifunctional inclusive resource school that began operating in Tashkent will be introduced in the Khorezm, Jizzakh, and Samarkand regions by the end of the year, and in all regions of the country over the next two years.

The president noted that kindergarten should become a place where a child's abilities are revealed. 180,000 educators and teachers are undergoing training under a program developed on the basis of advanced foreign experience and focused on learning through play. By the end of the year, the program will be introduced in all of the more than 38,000 kindergartens. Equipping state kindergartens with equipment will be carried out under a three-year program.

To support working mothers, from January 1, 2027, women whose 2-3-year-old children are enrolled in family kindergartens will have the costs of the child's stay in this institution compensated from the state budget.

From the new academic year, for educators wishing to obtain a higher education without interrupting their work, the period of study at pedagogical universities will be reduced from four to three years. This opportunity can also be used by assistant educators who have worked in a kindergarten for at least five years.

The "Creators of New Uzbekistan" competition, held for the first time, gathered 170,000 students. The competition will be held annually, and the most deserving participants will undergo preparation for the world professional skills championship, which will take place in Tokyo in 2028.

Tax and land benefits will also be provided for the creation of private technical colleges. In such institutions preparing personnel for priority sectors, half of the students will study on the basis of state grants. They will also be supported in attracting international educational programs and equipping laboratories.

Speaking about higher education, the head of state noted that the number of students in Uzbekistan has reached 1.6 million, and seven universities have entered international rankings in 17 subjects. At the same time, the president criticized the content of textbooks in universities and the quality of specialist training. Engineering and medical universities have been instructed to strengthen work on creating new educational materials, translating, and adapting advanced foreign educational publications. The responsibility of rectors for the quality and results of education will also be increased.

Two-thirds of the composition of the supervisory boards of state universities will be formed from representatives of the private sector and foreign universities. The boards will review curricula based on labor market requirements and develop at least 50 textbooks annually. Graduation theses and scientific research will be oriented towards solving practical problems of economic sectors.

The management system at Inha University and the Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering will be introduced in 20 more universities.

The meeting also discussed the signed resolution on the development of dual education in the field of higher education on the principle of "enterprise — university — target specialist." From next year, the system will be established in 75, and from 2028 — in all universities of the country. Enterprises will submit applications for training specialists based on their own needs, and selection will take place on the basis of an interview. The state will compensate half of the salary of an employed student. Young people showing good results in work and study will be able to study on the basis of a state grant from the second year.

In addition, mentors assigned to students at the enterprise will be rewarded. Students will also be compensated for housing rental expenses if necessary. Universities and partner enterprises that have organized dual education in an exemplary manner will be awarded. Half of the award received by the university will be directed to the teaching staff who contributed to this work.

The head of state also instructed to attract branches of 300 leading universities of the world to the country. Private universities that have opened branches of prestigious foreign universities will be compensated for part of the costs associated with creating laboratories, purchasing equipment, using the brand, and developing the campus. Priority will be given to the fields of engineering, agriculture and water management, energy, artificial intelligence, and medicine.

"To value a teacher means to value not just a representative of one profession, but the future of an entire nation," the president said in conclusion.