Uzbekistan’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved the Regulation on General Secondary Education. According to the document, 20 changes were made in the organization of school education. The head of the department of general and specialized schools (of the Ministry of Public Education) Saidahror Seitkamalov helped the correspondent of Uzbekistan Today to understand the innovations.
– What is the significance of the new regulation in the advancement of school education?
– The last time this document was upd ated almost 20 years ago. The new requirements set more challenges for us. Especially, the education and upbringing of the younger generation at a qualitative level is pressing issue. The great attention was placed on this topic in the Strategy for Actions of the development of Uzbekistan along five priority directions in 2017-2021. The recent decree of the Cabinet of Ministers “On approval of the Regulation on general secondary education” became the basis for significant changes and updates.
– How simplified is the process of entrance to the first classes?
– Previously, children who wanted to study at school fr om the age of six passed a psychological and pedagogical commission, and only with its approval they were taken to the first grade. Now this institute is canceled and the rules have become simpler. If the child is six years old on August 31, then he will be admitted to the school without any tests. If he/she reaches six years of age after this date, the director and psychologist of the educational institution will talk with his/her parents – their task is to explain why it is better to postpone the receipt for one year. And one more innovation related to the reception – fr om this year at school there will become stricter admission of students on the territorial belonging – a certain area will be fixed for each. And first of all, the children living in this territory will be accepted, and only then, if there are vacant seats, others will be welcome.
– Is there any novelty in the document concerning graduates of the ninth grade?
– Yes, there is: now it will be much easier to get a certificate with honors. Earlier, the assessments for the entire period of schooling were considered in its issuance, but now only the last two years are taken into account. Do you want to get a certificate with honors – study in the eighth and ninth classes with “excellent” marks, and your dream will come true.
– What other changes does this decree declare?
– It determines the Order of organization of general secondary education and the activities of the relevant institutions in the republic. In addition to the system of the Ministry of Public Education, general and non-state educational institutions function under other ministries and departments. The document regulates the educational process in these institutions.
A new paragraph was introduced regarding the free choice of the language of education when taking a child to the school, transferring fr om class to class, from one educational institution to another. So, the choice of the language of education in the general educational institution will be carried out in accordance with the Law “On the state language”, that is, you can choose any language. To date, the school education in Uzbekistan is conducted in seven languages: Uzbek, Karakalpak, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen.
The new version clearly defines that the general secondary education consists of primary (grades 1-4) and general secondary education (grades 1-9) carried out in the form of full-time education. There are of the following types of the general educational institutions: primary school, general secondary school, specialized boarding school with in-depth study of individual subjects, specialized boarding school for football, a specialized school (boarding school) for children with disabilities in physical or mental development, a specialized boarding school in sanatorium type, a specialized school for children in need of special conditions for maintenance, upbringing and education.
To obtain high-quality general secondary education by children of school age in remote settlements (in mountainous and desert regions), the branches of general educational institutions can be organized on the basis of the decision of district (city) khokimiyats (local administrations). The number of children reaches 100 people in them.
– Now the number of students in some schools considerably exceeds the established lim it which negatively affects the quality of lessons and creates difficulties for teachers. What requirements were se t for this issue?
– Indeed, there was no restriction on the number of students before. Now, according to the new standards, the occupancy of classes in general education schools should not exceed 35 people. In the schools that were not built according to the standard designs, located in adapted buildings and do not have the necessary number of pupils located in remote settlements (in mountainous and desert regions) wh ere the education is not conducted in Uzbek, the number of students will be determined by agreement of regional bodies of the people’s education with financial departments of the district (city) hokimiyats.
At present, there are more than 1,400 small classes in the system of public education wh ere about 18,000 pupils study. As a result of the merger of several classes with a small number of students, the academic hours will be reduced, and it will create an opportunity to use the state budget effectively. The combination of several primary classes will allow rationally use the building of a general education institution.
Getting a lot of information leads the student to psychological overfatigue, as a result of which the child “cools down” in the subjects of study, loses interest in the school. Therefore, the requirements were established for the union of classes.
Taking into account the peculiarities of the curricula and the location of the general educational institution, the division into two groups brings a good result at the classroom. In particular, if there are enough qualified teachers and there are more than 25 people in the classroom, it is allowed to divide it into two groups in conducting the lessons on a foreign language, certain subjects in state specialized general education schools with in-depth study of individual disciplines, computer science and labor training – 9th grade, physical education in 8-9th grades, Uzbek language in 2-9 grades with a different language of education and Russian language in 2-9 grades with a different language of education.
The issue related to the logopedic service was resolved. Now one speech therapist is required for 25 classes. These specialists will work in schools with a large number of students. And few schools will be attached to them, based on the normative and territorial proximity of the educational institution.
In order to meet the needs of students for obtaining in-depth knowledge, it is provided to organize extended-day groups in the institutions of general secondary education.
In addition, there were improved the provisions related to the effective organization of the duration for the school year and vacations in general education institutions, the order of step-by-step control for 5-9 grade pupils, the enrollment of schoolchildren by general education institutions and others.
