Education in Uzbekistan/History of Pre-School Education in Uzbekistan

One of the first fundamental steps on the way was the adoption in July 1992 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Education", which consolidated the basic principles of policy in this area. Other legislative acts were also adopted, such as the resolution “On measures to further improve the system of out-of-school education”, “On improving the structure of territorial bodies of public education”. This reform also did not bypass pre-school education. For its further development, the law “On the approval of regulatory legal acts in the field of preschool education”, the provisions “On the state preschool educational institution in the Republic of Uzbekistan”, “On the non-state preschool educational institution in the Republic of Uzbekistan” were adopted. In 2012, only 23% of children in Uzbekistan attended preschool. In rural areas, it was as low as 8.5%. Since 2017, there has been a significant push for reform and today over 60% of Uzbek children receive an education.

Child-centred learning is a new approach in Uzbekistan's education system. At a recently opened pre-school in Khasian village, children are being empowered to make their own choices about how they learn. As Irina Grosheva, the Chief Specialist of the Strategic Department of Preschool Education at the Uzbek Ministry of Education says, "In the previously used model, the educator was the most important key figure. Now it is the child who plays the main role. The child has the right to choose his or her own activity". She tells us that the goal now in Uzbekistan is to develop analytical thinking and creativity in children. They believe that it is creativity that allows a child's personality to grow."

The World Bank is also helping Uzbekistan to develop good-quality pre-school education as well by financing various projects in the area. Marco Mantovanelli, the World Bank country manager for Uzbekistan argues that supporting a child-centred education from an early age enables them to solve problems more easily. "Problem solving is critical to developing a better capacity to be a learner down the road", he explains.In the small village of Shikhmakhshad, there's another alternative preschool called a playgroup. Children in mixed-aged groups there learn through play. Alongside its broader support for educational reform, UNICEF has helped to open eight such playgroups in Uzbekistan. According to Munir Mammadzade, the UNICEF representative in Uzbekistan, in these playgroup preschools, "soft skills and critical thinking skills, the ability to interact, communicate and solve problems even though they might be very basic at that age" are something they are investing in.

As a result of this new push to improve education for Uzbek children, the profession of pre-school teaching has become a popular career choice. Students of this profession are also learning how to teach creatively to adapt to the new methods. But to Madina Nabieva, a pre-school student, their main goal is to learn to "remain a child at heart, otherwise, the children will not be able to open up" and accept the new teachers into their world.