On April 21, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on improving the quality of school education and advancing the teacher training system.

The “Uzbekistan – 2030” Strategy designates reforms in the education sector as one of the priority areas. This yearʼs State Program outlines numerous initiatives to enhance school infrastructure and nurture a well-educated younger generation.

A significant factor in achieving these goals is the knowledge and qualifications of teachers. Currently, Uzbekistan has 15 public and 61 private higher education institutions offering pedagogical programs. However, only about 40 percent of their academic staff possess higher academic qualifications.

A considerable portion of student admissions is allocated to social science disciplines, while there is a notable shortage of teacher training programs in exact and natural sciences. Additionally, 40 percent of students are enrolled in part-time (correspondence) programs.

In response, the government plans to transform Tashkent State Pedagogical University into the Uzbekistan National Pedagogical University and implement the “Future Teachers” project. This university will become the leading institution for pedagogical institutes nationwide.

At the “New Uzbekistan” University, over 40 foreign professors and 30 prominent compatriot scholars are working. Students have attracted grants totaling 24.3 billion UZS for their various projects. Proposals were presented to leverage this potential to expand training in modern fields such as engineering, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and medicine, and to establish new laboratories.

Furthermore, to ensure the integration of science, education, and practice, a modern university clinic is planned to be established based on Germanyʼs advanced experience.

International standards are also being introduced to assess education quality. This year, the knowledge of 9,000 fifteen-year-old students from 233 schools will be evaluated through the global PISA program.

Currently, 2,000 schools across the country are operating under high workload conditions. This year, 112,000 new student places will be created using budgetary resources. With population growth, the demand for schools is expected to rise further. Therefore, it is planned to attract 200 million USD from the Islamic Development Bank to construct 58 modern schools across the country.

According to recent analysis, 80 percent of school-aged children are active users of the internet and social media. While efforts are underway to protect them from harmful content, only a few creators are producing engaging national content that significantly influences youth education and upbringing.

In response, instructions were given to create a safe digital environment for children, increase the volume of national content, and support local content creators.