President meets with teachers and mentors, announces new education initiatives

Ahead of Teachers and Mentors Day, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with educators.

Congratulating all teachers and mentors on their professional holiday, the Head of State particularly emphasized their role in raising the younger generation.

“A teacher is an ocean of love and care, a source of kindness, and the sun of enlightenment!” the President said.

Today, artificial intelligence is reshaping approaches to learning and work. However, no technology can reach a child’s heart as a teacher can or instill in them a sense of love for the Motherland and responsibility. In this regard, the Head of State expressed gratitude to educators who have devoted their lives to raising and developing the younger generation.

During the meeting, state awards were presented to representatives from the education and science sectors. The recipients also included foreign partners who contributed to education development. In addition, a proposal was made to establish a separate state award named after Abdulla Avloni for outstanding educators at all levels of the education system, with the first presentation to be held ahead of next year’s professional holiday.

It was emphasized that developing education is one of the most important elements in building New Uzbekistan. Over the past decade, preschool facilities for 1.8 million children and schools for 1.5 million students have been built, while more than 10,000 educational institutions have been modernized and given a contemporary appearance. At the same time, it was noted that the content and quality of education are now more important than developing physical infrastructure.

“We brought our children back from the cotton fields to their school desks and teachers back into the educational process”, the Head of State said.

To this end, the development of a new generation of textbooks began in 2018. International experience was studied, and textbooks for grades up to 8 were updated. This year alone, 324 textbooks were revised with the participation of more than 400 specialists. They are designed to foster national values, a responsible attitude toward nature, digital and financial literacy, and independent and critical thinking skills among children. The renewal of textbooks for upper grades is scheduled for completion by 2030.

The reforms’ results are evident in students’ achievements. In the PISA ranking, 15-year-old students improved by 32 positions in science and ranked 48th. This year alone, young people won 228 medals at prestigious international Olympiads. The number of students who earned certificates in foreign languages and academic subjects while still in school reached 100,000.

Support for teachers is also yielding results. Over the past five years, the number of teachers holding international and national certificates has risen from 29,000 to 143,000, and the shortage of teaching staff in schools has been reduced threefold. Today, 40,000 teachers earn salaries equivalent to $1,000, while another 1,500 educators earn more than $2,000. It was also proposed to expand the Teacher of the Year competition to include preschool educators and instructors at technical colleges.

Turning to future priorities, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized that school graduates should enter adulthood with a profession and proficiency in a foreign language. School principals will be granted additional authority in this area, and the necessary conditions will also be created for entrepreneurs willing to cooperate. A commission will be established to address vocational training for school-age youth and ensure continuity across different levels of education. New decisions in these areas are expected to be announced within three months.

To support the economy’s technological development, particular attention will be paid to advanced study in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. In classes with more than 25 students, these subjects will be taught in two separate groups. Teachers holding a national certificate will receive a 50 percent salary bonus. Each year, leading teachers from 208 districts and cities will receive awards, and 1,000 educators will undertake internships abroad. Teachers who prepare Olympiad winners will be directly awarded the highest qualification category.

Subject Olympiads will also be organized for primary school students. Starting next year, winners of the competition among fourth-grade students will receive computers, and their teachers will receive cash prizes based on the stage of the competition. From the next academic year, mathematics, computer science, and the natural sciences will be taught entirely in English at 100 schools. Teachers and educators in preschool preparatory groups involved in implementing the project will receive a 100 percent salary bonus.

A “quality index” will be introduced to assess school performance. Educational institutions will be divided into categories based on learning outcomes and teachers’ potential. Leading schools that help other institutions move into a higher category will receive a 30 percent bonus for their teaching staff. In teacher professional development, mandatory month-long courses will be replaced with professional development vouchers. Depending on their performance, teachers can choose training programs ranging from 18 to 72 hours.

In response to growing demand for school places, measures were also announced to support private schools. Concessional loans and subsidies will be provided to establish private schools in 52 districts where the education system is under particularly heavy pressure. Vacant state-owned buildings will be made available to private schools rent-free for ten years, and half of the cost of international accreditation will be covered. For parents whose children attend private schools, the tax-exempt income threshold will be doubled.

Greater attention will also be given to creating an inclusive educational environment for children with special needs. Over the past two years, the number of inclusive schools has increased almost fivefold to 3,591. The experience of the multifunctional inclusive resource school launched in Tashkent will be introduced in Khorezm, Jizzakh and Samarkand regions by the end of the year, and across all regions of the country over the following two years.

It was emphasized that kindergartens should become places where children can develop and demonstrate their abilities. A total of 180,000 preschool educators and teachers are undergoing training under a program developed based on advanced international experience and focused on learning through play. By the end of the year, the program will be introduced in all of the country’s more than 38,000 kindergartens. State-run preschools will be equipped with modern facilities under a three-year program.

To support working mothers, starting January 1 next year, the state budget will reimburse childcare fees for women whose children aged two to three attend family-based kindergartens. Opportunities for preschool educators to pursue higher education without leaving their jobs will also be expanded. Starting next academic year, the duration of study at pedagogical universities will be reduced from four years to three. The same opportunity will be available to assistant educators who have worked in a kindergarten for at least five years.

In vocational education, international programs have been introduced at 104 technical colleges over the past two years. Cooperation between technical colleges and 25,000 enterprises has enabled more than 100,000 young people to earn an income while continuing their studies. Students learning a profession under the dual education system receive stipends of up to 1.3 million UZS. Starting next year, vocational instructors holding an international professional certificate will receive a 50 percent salary bonus, while 500 instructors will undertake internships abroad each year.

The professional skills competition “Creators of New Uzbekistan”, held for the first time, brought together 170,000 students. The competition will be held annually, and the strongest participants will prepare for the WorldSkills Competition in Tokyo in 2028. Tax and land incentives will be provided for the establishment of private technical colleges. At such institutions, training specialists for priority sectors, half of the students will study under state-funded grants. Support will also be provided to introduce international educational programs and equip laboratories.

Turning to higher education, the Head of State noted that the number of students in the country has reached 1.6 million, and that seven universities have entered international rankings across 17 subject areas. At the same time, the President criticized the content of university textbooks and the quality of specialist training, noting that they do not yet fully meet modern requirements. Engineering and medical universities need to step up efforts to develop new teaching materials in modern fields and to translate and adapt advanced foreign educational publications.

University rectors will be held more accountable for the quality and outcomes of education. Two-thirds of the membership of supervisory boards at state universities will consist of representatives of the private sector and foreign universities. The boards will review curricula based on labor market requirements and develop at least 50 textbooks each year. Graduation projects and scientific research will be geared towards addressing practical challenges facing various sectors of the economy.

A task was set to expand national educational programs at universities in line with international standards so that they are recognized worldwide. Starting next year, the experience of Inha University and Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering will be introduced at another 20 universities. To this end, their management systems will be adapted, and dedicated structures responsible for implementing international programs will be established.

A resolution on developing dual education in higher education based on the “enterprise – university – targeted specialist” principle was also discussed. Starting next year, the system will be introduced at 75 universities, and from 2028 at all universities across the country. Enterprises will submit requests for specialist training based on their own needs, with candidates selected through interviews. The state will compensate half of the wages paid to employed students. Young people who demonstrate strong results both at work and in their studies will be eligible to study under state grants from their second year.

In addition, mentors assigned to students at enterprises will be encouraged, while students will also be reimbursed for housing rental expenses where necessary. Universities and partner enterprises that successfully organize dual education will receive awards. Half of the award received by a university will be allocated to the teaching staff who contributed to this work.

The Head of State also set the task of attracting branches of 300 leading universities from around the world to Uzbekistan. Private universities that open branches of prestigious foreign universities will be reimbursed for part of the costs associated with establishing laboratories, purchasing equipment, using the brand, and developing campuses. Priority will be given to engineering, agriculture and water management, energy, artificial intelligence, and medicine.

The Head of State also set the task of attracting branches of 300 leading universities from around the world to Uzbekistan. Private universities that establish branches of prestigious foreign universities on a franchise basis will be reimbursed for part of the costs of setting up laboratories, purchasing equipment, using the brand, and developing campuses. Priority areas will include engineering, agriculture and water management, energy, artificial intelligence, and medicine.

During the meeting, proposals and initiatives from educators were heard. In conclusion, the President of Uzbekistan once again congratulated teachers on their professional holiday and extended his best wishes.

“To value a teacher is to value not just a member of one profession, but the future of an entire nation”, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

UzA