How Uzbekistan implements foreign experience in the system of Presidential educational institutions
In Uzbekistan the attitude towards education and upbringing, science has completely changed. In particular, systematic, consistent and comprehensive measures are being implemented to develop preschool, general secondary and higher education, research institutions. A number of important decrees, resolutions and programs are being adopted in this direction.
The system of the Agency of Specialized Educational Institutions, created on the personal initiative of the head of state, currently includes 14 Presidential schools, 9 creative schools, 2 sports schools, 185 specialized schools and boarding schools, the Namangan State Institute of Foreign Languages named after "New Uzbekistan" and "Iskhokhon Ibrat", the Scientific and Practical Center for Pedagogical Excellence and International Assessment, the state institution "Center for Subject Olympiads" and the children's health camp "Renaissance".
In the 2023/2024 academic year, 319 people graduated from Presidential schools, 263 people from creative schools, and 5,868 people from specialized schools.
In particular, 65 percent of graduates of the Presidential Schools (206 people) were given the opportunity to enroll early in prestigious foreign universities.
Also in the 2023/2024 academic year, students from our system’s schools took part in 12 international and regional subject Olympiads, winning 6 gold, 17 silver and 34 bronze medals.
All creative schools of the system entered the top ten based on the results of entrance examinations to higher educational institutions of the republic in the 2024/2025 academic year.
Of course, these achievements are the result of the high attention paid in our country to the field of education, as well as the further improvement of the educational process in schools on the basis of international cooperation.
This year, the agency has achieved significant results in the field of cooperation with prestigious educational organizations around the world. In particular, a week of scientific and practical training was organized for executive and academic directors of the Presidential Schools, as well as foreign and domestic teachers in STEM disciplines, in order to familiarize themselves with the presentation of new programs of the Cambridge International Educational Organization for the 2025/2027 academic year, teaching methods, and laboratory work.
The specialized school named after Muhammad al-Khwarizmi in the system successfully passed the first stage of the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) program, and the process of preparation for accreditation was completed.
It should be noted that an agreement has been signed between the Scientific and Practical Center for Pedagogical Excellence and International Assessment at our agency and the IB organization.
Also in May-June of this year, the Agency and the Korean Educational Center at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Uzbekistan held the "Incheon Education Festival". The "Education of Natural Sciences" festival, held on August 13-14, was aimed at ensuring the participation of young people in specialized international programs, projects and competitions with a focus on modern professions by organizing practical classes based on natural and exact sciences, comprehensive support for the formation of creative abilities, as well as the formation of creative ideas among teachers working in the system, and the development of skills for presenting them to students, linking them with practice.
In addition, negotiations were held between the Agency's management and delegations from foreign countries, devoted to issues of cooperation in the field of education. In particular, during the dialogue with the international educational organization of the United States of America Cognia, an agreement was reached on cooperation in studying and improving the activities of Presidential, creative, specialized schools and boarding schools, raising the quality of education in schools to a higher level.
For reference, the international educational organization Cognia currently reaches more than 25 million students and more than 1 million teachers in about 80 countries and serves more than 36,000 educational institutions. In particular, this organization provides high-quality professional services in school accreditation, certification, assessment, research, education quality improvement, provision of quality educational resources, as well as professional development and qualifications of teachers through an online platform and in person.
The agency organized a meeting with the executive director of the international departments of Woosong University of the Republic of Korea, Yu Tek Lee, and the general manager of the Digital Campus program, Seung Joon Lee.
A memorandum was also signed between the Agency and Sungkyunkwan University of the Republic of Korea, because of which the university plans to allocate grants for 100% and 50% of tuition fees for students in the Agency’s schools in the 2025 academic year.
Representatives from the Incheon Metropolitan City Education Office of the Republic of Korea visited schools in our system and learned about educational programs, the assessment system, and projects created by students in areas such as modern information technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
In addition, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary to Uzbekistan Jozsef Rozsa visited specialized boarding school No. 1 in the city of Karshi, which is part of our Agency. The Ambassador of Hungary got acquainted with the activities of the school and highly appreciated the conditions created here for the education of young students.
Scientists from the UK visited the Presidential School in Bukhara. During the visit, Professors Simon Thompson and Marcelo Starikoff of the University of Sussex, as well as the rector of the Bukhara State Pedagogical Institute Bakhodir Mamurov, held sincere conversations with teachers and students of the Presidential School. The guests spoke in detail about the higher education system and educational programs in the UK.
It should be noted that in the Agency’s cooperation with international partners, priority is given to such issues as the effective organization of educational processes, student and teacher exchange programs, and the development of curricula for teaching STEAM disciplines and foreign languages in the system’s schools.
Presidential schools occupy an important place among educational institutions in the Agency system.
For reference, for the 2024/2025 academic year, 336 students who scored the highest scores on the entrance exams were admitted to the 5th grade of 14 Presidential Schools.
It should be especially noted that the number of young people seeking to acquire modern knowledge is growing every year. For example, this year, 62,062 applications were submitted for admission to the Presidential Schools for the new academic year, with an average of 185 people applying for one place. This is a clear indication that the Presidential Schools, created on the special initiative and with the attention of the head of our state, have become a driving force in the field of education.
Indeed, today students of the Presidential Schools, operating in all regions of the republic, are achieving significant results.
In the 2023/2024 academic year, 319 students graduated from the Presidential Schools, with 100% of graduates receiving international language proficiency certificates (the highest score is 8.5), 80% (255 people) received an international SAT certificate (the highest score is 1560 points). 70% of graduates showed a positive result in A-level exams in Cambridge (12% more than last year).
Hundred percent of graduates of presidential schools were given the opportunity to enroll early in prestigious foreign universities.
In particular, a student of the Tashkent Presidential School Abdulaziz Sobirov was accepted to study at Harvard University, which is in the TOP-5 of the international ranking, with a 100 percent grant of 354,000 US dollars, and Saifullo Saidov was accepted to Princeton University, which is in the TOP-20, with a grant of 350,000 US dollars. In addition, another 34 graduates received 100 percent grants from various prestigious universities.
An 11th-grade student of the Khiva Presidential School, Zulfiya Shomurotova, was awarded the Zulfiya State Prize in Education. Also, a graduate of this school, Ogabek Yuldashov, was awarded the state award "Mard uglon".
In 2024, students of the Presidential School won a total of 10 medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze) at such prestigious international Olympiads as the Abu Ali ibn Sino International Biology Olympiad, the International Zhautykov Olympiad, the International Physics Olympiad, the International Mathematical Olympiad, the International Economics Olympiad and the International Standards Olympiad.
Of course, these results open the way to new achievements in education and upbringing of the younger generation. In this direction, an action plan has been developed, according to which the Presidential Schools will transition to a two-semester curriculum. Thanks to this, educational processes will be adapted to the requirements of international standards and additional conveniences will be created in the assessment processes.
In order to digitalize the learning and assessment processes in the Presidential Schools and organize training seminars to improve the qualifications of teaching staff, cooperation will be established with the international educational organization Pearson-Edexcel.
IGCSE exams will also be introduced for 9th grade students. This will help identify gifted students early, fill existing gaps in academic performance, and increase the responsibility of teachers and students.
The agency’s system also includes Yangi Uzbekiston, which effectively uses international cooperation links in the educational process.
In particular, in November, a delegation headed by the Deputy Head of the Department of International Relations of the State Chancellery of the Federal State of Bavaria, Christoph Stöckle, visited Yangi Uzbekiston University.
At the meeting, members of the delegation became familiar with the university’s educational programs aimed at teaching students modern knowledge and skills.
Issues of student and faculty exchange, establishing cooperation in the field of joint scientific research and developing modern educational programs were also discussed.
In addition, MIT J-WEL is one of the closest partners of Yangi Uzbekiston (New Uzbekistan) University. Bilateral cooperation serves to further improve the quality of education and the potential of the faculty, create broad opportunities for students, and strengthen the authority of Yangi Uzbekiston University in the international arena.
An agreement was signed between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology J-WEL and Yangi Uzbekiston University, which gives the university students the opportunity to undergo an internship and improve their qualifications at the No. 1 university in the world. That is, students participate in classes organized by MIT professors and teachers, conduct scientific research, develop their projects and conduct experiments in MIT laboratories.
In conclusion, it can be said that in our country special attention is paid to the development of science and education, a holistic and continuous system is being created that comprehensively supports a child in a family from birth to adulthood, and helps them find a worthy place in life. An active contribution to this process is also made by the Agency of Specialized Educational Institutions, which serves the upbringing of the younger generation, capable of making a worthy contribution to the prosperity of our Motherland.
As the President of our country noted: "The more educated our children are when they leave school, the faster the branches of the economy based on high technologies will develop, and it will be possible to solve many social problems. Therefore, if I say that the threshold of the New Uzbekistan begins with school, I think that all our people will support this idea."
Sevara Shakirova,
Deputy Director of the Agency for Presidential
Educational Institutions of the Republic of Uzbekistan
