The US will support school education reforms in Uzbekistan

Minister of Public Education of Uzbekistan Sherzod Shermatov, the US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells and  Deputy Assistant Administrator for Central and South Asia at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Javier Piedra signed a memorandum of understanding in Tashkent on February 27.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Public Education of Uzbekistan, the US Government will provide support in reforming the sphere of education in Uzbekistan in accordance with the document.

USAID plans to consult the Ministry in such areas as strategic planning, resource mobilization and technical support for improving the methodology of teaching and development of educational programs.

Besides, USAID will help evaluate reading skills (Early Grade Reading Assessment, EGRA) and math skills (Early Grade Mathematics Assessment, EGMA) of primary school students.

The US State Department will assist the Ministry in establishing school counseling services, developing new learning standards and textbooks, will consult the Ministry on school administration and deliver trainings for teachers in order to improve the quality of English language teaching at schools.

One of the cooperation areas will be sports. The parties intend to reduce violence at schools by inspiring children to engage in sports and non-school classes.

The USA will also help Uzbekistan in improving the quality of teaching the STEM-disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) at schools and in implementing the IT-nation and English-Speaking Nation projects.

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