17.01.2022

On January 17, the President held a video conferencing on improving the quality of education and upbringing at schools and improving the functioning of specialized schools.

A great number of educational institutions, in particular, the specialized schools, are being established in our country. When the construction works of Presidential schools started, the President has noted that they should become a model for other institutions and change the sphere of education. That is what is happening: in society, there is an increased interest in science, more and more parents want to provide their children a quality education, and young people want to obtain it.

In 2019, there were 271 specialized schools in our country. The President’s initiatives and decisions to improve the teaching of science and foreign languages resulted in establishing additional 126 specialized schools for mathematics and physics, 87 schools for chemistry and biology, 99 schools for information technology, and 207 schools for foreign languages.

Accordingly, the number of specialized schools in the public education system has reached 790, 135 of which are fully specialized and have the status of a boarding school. In the remaining 655 schools, in-depth teaching of subjects is organized only in separate classes. The schools’ educational programs, teaching methods and extracurricular activities are almost identical to the regular schools. For example, the classes in mathematics and of foreign languages are 2 hours longer than in regular schools.

However, this is not enough to meet modern requirements and keep up with the pace of development. In this regard, the issues of expanding the coverage of specialized schools and improving the quality of education were discussed.

«We must clearly understand that our economy has great goals. We aim to increase our exports to $14 billion this year. By 2025, we plan to increase gross domestic product to $100 billion, exports to $30 billion. Who will do it? The educated people!», said the President.

It has been defined that specialized schools will be transferred to the Agency of Presidential Educational Institutions.

«We have created this Agency not only for 14 schools. It should extend the experience and methodology of Presidential schools to all other schools», noted the President.

Therefore, from the new school year, two schools in the city of Nukus and regional centers, as well as one in each district and city will be selected. These schools will be further transferred to the system of the Presidential Educational Institutions Agency. It was highlighted that it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the development of industries and subjects which is traditionally strong in a certain region. The instructions have been given to create a working group to study the conditions in the regions and prepare the selected schools for the next school year on the basis of new standards.

The importance of reviewing the admission procedures for such schools and the assessment system for students and teachers was also noted.

The President has focused on the content of the educational process.

«The specialized schools are needed not only to teach 2 hours more. The students should receive there a thorough knowledge of the topical subjects, have a suspicious mind, a high national consciousness and a sense of patriotism» - the President said.

It was noted that local khokimiyats (governors’ and mayors’ offices) and universities are also responsible for the development of school education, which must form a promising human resources for themselves.

The level of education depends primarily on the knowledge and competence of the teacher. Therefore, the directors and teachers will be hired in specialized schools through a two-stage competition. The Agency of Presidential Educational Institutions shall be responsible for recruiting the highly qualified teachers based on this system, providing additional training and assistance in obtaining national and international certificates.

The aim is to organize a scientific center on the basis of the Pedagogical Skills and International Evaluation Center of the Agency, which will develop advanced educational programs for specialized schools on the basis of international methodology.

To effectively organize the work, it has been instructed to create territorial divisions of the Presidential Education Agency in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the regions.

The President has criticized the poor quality of foreign language teaching at schools.

«In the developed countries the foreign languages are not taught at universities, since students have learnt two languages since childhood. We teach foreign languages from first to eleventh grades. But what percentage of school-leavers can speak these languages?! After all, so many state funds are allocated for this! Where are the results? » -asked the President.

The issues on improving the quality of education, an in-depth teaching of subjects and foreign languages at other schools of the Ministry of Public Education system were discussed.

«Until we «get the education system on its feet», reforms shall not be successful. One ministry or agency will not be able to cope with this task. All of our people and society have to take up this task firmly. Our destiny depends on schools, on education and knowledge», said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The responsible officials were tasked to prepare a draft resolution on the implementation of the tasks defined at the meeting.