President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has chaired a meeting on development of public education system, advanced training of teachers and their authority in society, spiritual and moral education of young generation.

On August 23, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting on development of public education system, advanced training of teachers and their authority in society, spiritual and moral education of young generation.

From the first days of his activity as President, the Head of the state pays particular attention to issues of training modern creative-minded personnel, educating young people as patriotic and highly spiritual personalities, as well as improving the education system for achieving these goals.

Speaking about measures taken in the country to reform the school education system and urgent tasks in this area, the President emphasized the words of the great enlightener Mahmudhoja Behbudi: “School is the greatest abode in the world”, and dwelt on the essence and significance of the issue under discussion.

Indeed, the historical experience of developed countries shows that reforms aimed at changing society’s life began primarily with modernization of the education system, kindergartens, schools, and the education sector as a whole. Without changing schools, it is impossible to change a person, a society. And the school is the foundation of education and upbringing, and teachers make up its cornerstone.

As it is known, in difficult years of transition period, the spiritual and enlightenment environment in schools turned out to be vulnerable, the authority of the teacher and the prestige of profession decreased, attention to educating teachers of new formation, developing pedagogical science, introducing innovative educational technologies decreased, which led to a number of serious problems.

In recent years, large-scale reforms have been carried out to effectively address these problems and to radically improve the personnel training system. In particular, according to the system of public education, 6 decrees and resolutions of the President, 21 resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers were adopted, and the normative-legal framework of reforms in the sphere was strengthened.

Taking into account the wishes of parents and the general public, the 11-year school system was restored. Over the past three years, 157 new secondary schools have been built.

New type of schools was organized, including schools for gifted children, named after the great scientists Mirzo Ulugbek and Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, creative schools named after Hamid Alimjan and Zulfiya, Erkin Vakhidov, Abdulla Aripov, Ibraim Yusupov, Iskhokhon Ibrat, Muhammad Yusuf, Khalima Khudoyberdiyeva, Temurbeklar Maktabi schools, Presidential and private schools, which expanded children’s access to education.

Taking into account the importance of men’s participation in the effective implementation of educational activities, as a result of specific measures taken, 12 thousand 871 male teachers returned to public education system.

Large-scale activities are also carried out to stimulate teachers’ work. Over the past three years, teachers’ salaries have been increased by an average of 2.5 times. Clear criteria for stimulating the work of teachers working in remote areas are defined, they are paid allowances of up to 50 percent. This allowed attracting more than a thousand teachers to remote areas where there was a shortage of such specialists. Teachers who continue to work at retirement age are paid the full pension.

“We see the support and hope of the country in our teachers, selfless school principals, and veterans of the sphere”, the President said. – We will continue allocating resources and providing opportunities for development of school system. The fate of the future generation, the fate of our entire nation, people and the state depends on our esteemed teachers.

At the meeting, the fact that systemic problems remain, the material and technical base of schools, the level of knowledge and qualifications of teachers do not meet the requirements of the time in the education system, despite positive changes, was criticized.

The necessity of creating a modern and reasonable system in education and upbringing, updating teaching methods and educational standards, textbooks and manuals, the importance of using international best practices in teaching, and relying on national traditions and values in the process of upbringing, was noted.

The Head of the state emphasized the urgent importance of forming a national idea based on the principle “From national revival to national prosperity”, developing its deeply thought-out ideological foundations, as well as educating the young generation in the spirit of national pride and patriotism since childhood.

Attention was focused on the need for participation of parents and the general public in correcting deficiencies in schools and monitoring the quality of education.

“School is a matter of life and death, our future. The state, government and khokims cannot resolve this issue alone. This should be the business and duty of the entire society”, said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Issues of radical improvement of the public education system, integrated problem solving and upcoming tasks were discussed in detail.

The Concept of Development of the Public Education System until 2030 was approved by the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of April 29 this year. It identifies specific mechanisms for achieving 48 targets.

For example, the goal of Uzbekistan’s entry by 2030 in the ranks of the first 30 leading countries of the world by PISA rating (Programme for International Student Assessment) was set.

The Head of the state paid special attention to issues of raising the status and authority of teachers, strengthening guarantees of their rights and expanding benefits for them.

“There can be no reforms, any results without material incentives for teachers, without improving the quality of their lives”, the President said.

The Cabinet of Ministers, the ministries of finance and public education were instructed to increase the wages of public education workers in 2020. In addition, it is envisaged to allocate housing and car loans for teachers to further stimulate their work in remote rural schools. Work in this direction will be sequentially continued. Teachers and mentors, in turn, must maintain the prestige of their profession, constantly improving their knowledge and professional level, actively participating in public affairs, with their diligent work and initiative.

There are Tashkent State Pedagogical University named after Nizami, 6 pedagogical institutes in the regions. There is the Republican Education Center, the Institute for Retraining and Advanced Training of Managers and Specialists of Public Education named after Abdulla Avloni, institutes for continuing education of teachers in the regions. However, unfortunately, their participation in improving the educational process, raising the knowledge and qualifications of teachers is not noticeable.

In this regard, the task was set to critically study and improve activities of pedagogical universities, turn them into prestigious education institutions, and systematically educate young people who are striving to master pedagogical specialties.

It was reported that a structure will be created under the Cabinet of Ministers for coordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of activities of Presidential schools and creative schools.

The necessity of organizing spiritual and educational work in schools according to the new system, introduction of a single subject “Education” on the basis of combining such subjects as “National Idea”, “Ethics”, “History of Religions”, “Sense of Homeland” was noted. The importance of naming the schools after prominent scientists, statesmen and politicians, well-known commanders of our people was emphasized.

Special attention was paid to issues of family education, parental responsibility and their cooperation with teachers.

Recommendations were given on creation of feature films and documentaries, performances and videos about school life, the work of dedicated teachers.

“We should harmoniously develop material and spiritual life. School is the main link in this affair. Development of school education should become a great national goal, a nationwide movement”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

Leaders and decision makers, experienced teachers and makhalla representatives expressed their views and suggestions on the issues discussed.