​Students in Uzbekistan are Acquiring Skills for Future Success

In 2017, the Government of Uzbekistan’s then Ministry of Public Education, restructured as the Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) in 2023, introduced and has continued to build an ambitious program of reforms to​ improve learning outcomes ​for its primary and secondary students. Although student enrollment is high across the country, most students are not well-prepared to enter the workforce upon graduation from high school (at grade 11).  

Understanding the crucial role education plays in positive economic growth, the Government is committed to creating an education system that provides students with the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and practical skills they need to succeed academically and in future careers.  

With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, ​RTI leads the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program​ (December 2019–March 2024) with partners Florida State University and Mississippi State University. In close collaboration with the MoPSE, the Program has:

• Developed relevant and appropriate student learning standards for Uzbek Language Arts (ULA), mathematics, ICT, and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for all target grades.
• Developed or customized more than 100 teaching and learning materials.  
• Distributed over 820,000 student textbooks, workbooks, and teacher guides.
• Designed and delivered in-service teacher professional development (TPD) for 9,560 teachers.
• Conducted monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities, including impact evaluation research. 

The Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program facilitated the creation and approval of new standards for ULA and Mathematics (grades 1-4), ICT and EFL (grades 1-11).

Student textbooks and teacher guides for these subjects were developed (or localized) to closely align to the new standards. Illustrative of the process, after piloting the EFL materials the Program adapted for Uzbekistan, the MoPSE printed and provided student textbooks, workbooks, and teachers guides nationally for the 2022–2023 school year. Feedback from teachers and students informed revisions and new books were available to the MoPSE for the 2023–2024 school year to distribute nationwide. An estimated 6.5 million students are benefiting from the improved EFL materials alone, with similar efforts undertaken for ICT, ULA, and mathematics materials.

In addition, the MoPSE plans to produce braille versions of the ICT and EFL materials for inclusion of students who are blind. 

The ​Uzbekistan Education for Excellence ​Program has implemented a flexible training system for teachers and has helped create professional development opportunities in the classroom, through face-to-face instructional coaching, school level peer-to​-​peer learning communities, and digital learning support.  

Thirteen e-learning course modules were developed to support teachers to use the new materials and to improve their skills and knowledge through training and professional development. 

To further strengthen Uzbekistan’s education system, a new digital platform for teaching and learning materials was conceptualized and developed. This digital platform allows easy access to updated, high-quality materials throughout Uzbekistan, making it possible for teachers to have the resources they need to be successful in the classroom and beyond.  

Learn more about RTI’s work in international education.