Primary education in Uzbekistan Preprimary & Primary Education

Primary education in Uzbekistan

Preprimary & Primary Education
In the past, kindergartens were part of state enterprises and factories, but the decline of the state economy led to the closure of many kindergartens. In the mid-1990s over 8,500 kindergartens accommodated 950,000 children, and there were plans for building new facilities to accommodate 135,000 more children. Out of over 90,000 teachers working in the preprimary education, about 20 percent have higher education and 77 percent have vocational education. Enrollment to the preprimary schools (detsky sad or kindergartens) is voluntary. Children enter elementary school (a part of secondary school) at the age of six or seven. One teacher teaches all subjects for four years. Children at elementary school are trained in Uzbek using the Latin script. Elementary schools, as a part of secondary schools, are mainly located in the same buildings.
With the lack of inspection, control, suitable materials, funds, and curricula reflecting all the changes that have occurred, preschool education quality has declined. On the primary school level, the new language orientation has caused major problems. New curriculum, new programs, and new teachers speaking Uzbek are limited. The quality of education differs depending on the location of the kindergarten or school. Urban kindergartens and schools traditionally have better teachers and financial support than the rural ones because parents have more influence. Moreover, new graduates of the pedagogical institutes prefer to settle in the cities with more cultural amenities. The highest-ranking graduates tend to select city schools. Less academically successful graduates go to rural schools; thus continuing a downward spiral.


Kindergarten teachers are called vospitatel, which literally means the upbringing person, not just a teacher who teaches. In order to work as a vospitatel in the kindergarten, an individual must have a diploma in vocational teachers' education, which is earned at the pedagogical uchilishe. Elementary (primary) schoolteachers are also graduates from the ped-uchilishe. Many of the kindergartens and schools lack qualified personnel, and additional teachers are recruited from pedagogical institute students.
At the preschool level, there are no repeaters and no dropouts. Underdeveloped children just move to the next year with their peers. In primary education (from 6 to 10), children are grouped together irrespective of intellectual ability and development. Children who fail to perform are required to repeat the course. They are given two opportunities to successfully repeat the course and, if they are still unsuccessful, they may be transferred to schools for the mentally impaired. Dropping out of the school was not an option in the Soviet-style system of education. Teachers and school directors (principals) would be responsible for any such a case, and all measures (including enforcement) would be taken to prevent this. Compulsory education meant that every person must be educated. Today, with the deep economic decline and lack of political and legal stability, the percentage of dropouts is growing.
n , secondary education is divided into two stages. The first stage includes nine years of compulsory schooling with the same programs all over Uzbekistan. The second stage covers education and vocational training after nine years. It includes general secondary education and specialized secondary education. Young people receive general secondary education while staying in school for the tenth and eleventh grades. Upon successful completion, they get a Certificate of Complete Secondary Education.
Specialized secondary education is provided through a network of schools:

• 
  Professionalno-Tehnicheskoye Uchilishe (PTU or Professional Technical School). Graduates receive a Junior Specialist Diploma equal to a Certificate of Complete Secondary Education.
  
• 
  Tehnikum (Technical College). Graduates receive a Junior Specialist Diploma equal to a Certificate of Complete Secondary Education.
  
• 
  Lytsei (Lyceum) or various training courses offered by higher education institutions or industry. Graduates receive a Junior Specialist Diploma or Diploma of Academic Lyceum equal to a Certificate of Complete Secondary Education.
  

In 2017, education reforms in Uzbekistan changed from 12-year program to 11 years after a previous reform disappointed and troubled parents and children. Eleven years and are obligatory, starting at age seven. The rate of attendance in those grades is high, although the figure is significantly lower in rural areas than in urban centers registration has decreased significantly since 1991
The is 99 percent. However, in the era educational standards have fallen. Funding and training have not been sufficient to effectively educate the expanding younger cohorts of the population. Between 1992 and 2004, government spending on education dropped from 12 percent to 6.3 percent of In 2006 education’s share of the budget increased to 8.1 percent. Lack of budgetary support has been more noticeable at the primary and secondary levels, as the government has continued to subsidize s. 
Between 1992 and 2001, university attendance dropped from 19 percent of the college-age population to 6.4 percent. The three largest of Uzbekistan’s 63 institutions of higher learning are in , with all three being state funded.
Among higher educational institutions, the highest rated at domestic level are Tashkent Financial Institute and Westminster International University in Tashkent. The first one was established by the initiative of the first president of Uzbekistan in 1991. Later in 2002, in collaboration with the University of Westminster (UK) and “UMID” Foundation of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, was established. Currently these universities are regarded as the best in its sphere of education both in Uzbekistan and Central Asian countries.
In 2007, Uzbekistan Banking Association (UBA) had a joint venture with Management Development Institute of Singapore, Singapore and set up MDIST university in Tashkent.
In 2009 was established from the collaboration among Polytechnic University of Turin, UZAVTOSANOAT, and the Uzbek Ministry of Higher Education. TTPU offers bachelor's programs in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering and Architecture and Computer Engineering.
In was established to provide a high-achieving British school where children learn in a secure and stimulating environment and children of all nationalities are exposed to the English National Curriculum. The school is also able to deliver all local Uzbek curriculum requirements.
nrollment into elementary schools in Uzbekistan is not the same nowadays as it was a decade ago. Children of six or seven years of age come to elementary schools fully prepared, already possessing the basics that the schools provided to students in the late 1980's - early 1990's.

For about a little more than ten years now, in Uzbekistan. children are being asked to attend an entrance examination prior to their acceptance to elementary school. It is an examination used by the school to determine whether the child possesses enough capabilities to keep up with the academic workload lying ahead. To shift the burden of preparing children for entrance examination from kindergartens and parents solely, elementary schools set up "training lessons" on weekends for their future students. These weekend classes picked up a title of "Sunday schools" among their attendants. Any child, whose residence address presupposes for him or her to attend a particular elementary school, can subscribe for these weekend classes. Once a week, kindergarten children spend a day at an elementary school studying three lessons, lasting thirty minutes each. Basically, these are the lessons that are taught at school: alphabet, mathematics, art, etc.

These training classes help children to adjust themselves to the school life awaiting them. It is also a new experience for them: to be present in the classroom, to meet new friends, to master new skills following the teacher's instructions. They learn to use the break time between the classes effectively. They comprehend the importance of being on time for each lesson. Also for the first time children learn to use independently their pocket money for buying snacks or stationery they need in the class. Sunday schools have positive and negative consequences for children at the same time. Those children who like attending Sunday schools automatically become better prepared for school life. They feel more confident about their ability to master school subjects, in comparison to those who do not like coming to these training lessons. For the children, who refuse to attend Sunday school, the responsibility for their preparation for the entrance examination falls mostly on parents and kindergartens.

This requires a lot of focus on developing reading, writing, counting, drawing skills in a child. At the same time it is necessary to monitor that the child has a clear understanding of such topics as nature, home, family, and be able to answer such questions as: which are domestic animals, and which are wild, and the like. In addition, they should memorize and be able to tell by heart a few small poems. All this is a base for elementary school entrance examination. The entrance examination is held by three persons: a psychologist, an elementary school teacher and a third teacher (of any subject, as school decides). It lasts only 10-15 minutes, in quite a friendly atmosphere to let the child truly represent his knowledge without any stress. Some children refuse to answer questions or want to leave. In this case the psychologist intercepts with a game type questions. The examinees are asked questions on the topics covered by kindergartens and Sunday schools. Sometimes this can also include questions about the country, such as state symbols or National anthem Although schools still prefer seven year-olds to start attending classes, parents have a choice to send their children to school from the age of six. As the system of secondary education changed from 10 years to 12, parents are interested in sending their children to school as early as possible. That's why many want their children to be elementary school students at the age of six, six and a half. However, not every child is mature enough to change from the kindergarten playgrounds to school desks at such a young age. It should be noted, that once the primary education starts, children will be required to spend a considerable amount of time in the classroom, studying three-four subjects a day. This can be more stressful for six year olds due to the fact that mentally and emotionally, they are not quite ready for the discipline and instruction of the elementary school.

Of course Sunday schools play quite an important role in helping both six and seven year olds to prepare for elementary schools, particularly for the entrance examination. And 70% out of 100% of children, eligible to become elementary school students, do attend Sunday schools. However, roughly, one-third of the attendants express a desire not to study, not to go to school. They complain that the lessons are difficult, that school is not fun. Clearly, this is not a good contribution to developing a positive attitude in elementary school students-to be. An attitude they will use in future towards school, towards study, towards hard work.

Now if we were to compare this situation with that of the old primary education system, we would discover that 95% of children had positive feelings about attending elementary school. A decade ago, children coming out of kindergartens were not required to study mathematics and alphabet prior to attending the school. These subjects were covered in elementary school's first year. The daily school activities were mastered by the students with the help of the teacher, together with fellow classmates. Most of the children would come back home with positive feelings about their first day/week/month spend at the elementary school. The students in the class were of about the same level of knowledge, provided by kindergartens, nothing more than that. Surely there were exceptional children with talents, who could read and write, but those were single cases, besides, those were children who wanted to learn, not forced to learn before school started.