Hello, dear compatriots!

Today we will try to answer the questions that have recently been received in the field of public education.

Due to the deterioration of the epidemiological situation in our country in recent days, some schools are switching from the traditional form to online. There are many questions from citizens and representatives of the media on this topic. So, in which case do schools switch to an online form of education and how long does online education last?

Answer: since April 18 of this year, in accordance with the decision of the Republican Special Commission, control over strict compliance with quarantine rules has been strengthened in our country.

If cases of coronavirus infection among teachers and students are detected in schools, the centers of the sanitary and epidemiological service make proposals to the district (city) department of public education and the district (city) khokimiyat on the temporary suspension of the activities of individual schools by decisions of district (city) Kengashes of people's deputies or territorial commissions and place them in quarantine for 2 weeks. During this time, these schools will work online.

For reference: to date (as of April 22), 163 out of 10,008 schools in the republic, that is, 1.6% of schools, have been transferred to distance learning, that is, quarantined. These figures vary depending on the requests of the centers of the sanitary and epidemiological service.

Recall that the project “Online School” was launched jointly with the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan for students transferred to distance learning. We remind you once again that grades 1-4 can receive home education on the National Geographic TV channel, grades 5-8 - on the Eurosport, TVS TV channels, grades 9-11 -on the Hunting and Fishing and Fashion TV channels.

In total, 17298 television lessons were filmed in Uzbek, Russian and Karakalpak languages in the ”Online School" program for the 2020-2021 academic year, of which 15362 were broadcast.

218 experienced teachers, 12 sign language interpreters, 33 editors are involved in this process.

TV lessons in the online school program

It will be broadcast on these TV channels until May 25. There is also an opportunity to review students' lessons via the uzeduonlinemaktab telegram channel.

Question: Another important question that parents are interested in today concerns the admission of children to school from the age of 6.

In response, HTV reports the following:

Article 9 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Education”, adopted on September 23, 2020, in a new version states: “children are admitted to the first class of general education organizations in the year when they turn seven years old.”

For example, children entering the 1st grade in the next 2021/2022 academic year must reach the age of seven by December 31, 2021, that is, be born before December 31, 2014.

In this regard, I would like to remind parents that in order to prepare their children for school in a high-quality way, a system of mandatory annual preparation of children aged 6 to 7 years for primary education has been introduced in the system of preschool education and upbringing.

These days, the certification processes of teaching staff are taking place throughout the republic, in connection with which we want to clarify the issues related to this process.

It should be noted that this year teachers were given ample opportunities for an extraordinary increase in their category, teachers who showed good results received the highest and first categories and receive a salary increase. The provision of the largest number of hours to teachers of the higher and first grade in the distribution of teaching hours in schools also has a positive impact on their salaries. In addition, in schools with low quality of education, a surcharge of up to 100 percent is provided only in the case of admission of teachers of the highest and first categories. The fact that the award of 30 million soums in 6 subject areas, recently announced jointly with the trade unions, was awarded specifically to teachers of the highest and first categories, testifies to the importance of the certification process for teachers. Therefore, we want to remind you once again that all teachers strive to improve their knowledge and skills, as well as to improve their category, that the quality of education in schools is a process that is directly related to their qualitative composition.

So how are teachers' knowledge evaluated in this process? There are two important points here. Firstly, receiving an assessment from the certification tests for obtaining a qualification category, which are currently being conducted, does not mean that she has passed the certification.

The evaluation criteria in the certification process are as follows :

1) at the first stage, the expert group studies the results of the qualification test for the academic subject, the skills of conducting classes and the effectiveness of the work of the attested and prepares appropriate recommendations;

2) at the second stage, the attestation commissions analyze the results of the first stage, studied by the expert group, study the set of documents (portfolio) collected during the attestation process, and decide whether to leave the teaching staff in the qualification category (position) or assign them another category (position).

The second aspect, from each of the criteria for evaluating teaching staff for positions of the highest qualification category:

- 75 percent and above - “certified, the highest qualification category (head teacher position) has been retained”;

with an indicator below 75 percent - ”did not pass the certification, was demoted to the first qualification category (the position of a leading teacher).";

According to each of the criteria for evaluating teaching staff in positions of the first qualification category:

- 75 percent and above - "certified, awarded the highest qualification category (head teacher position)”;

- Has an indicator from 74 to 65 percent - "certified, has the first qualification category (the position of a leading teacher)”;

- If the indicator is less than 65 percent, the decision is made ”I did not pass the certification, I was demoted to the second qualification category (senior lecturer position)".

According to each of the criteria for evaluating teaching staff in positions of the second qualification category:

- 65 percent and above - “certified, awarded the first qualification category (the position of a leading teacher)”;

- With an indicator from 64 to 60 percent - "certified, the second qualification category (senior lecturer position) has been retained”;

- Less than 60 percent - ”did not pass the certification, was demoted to the position of a specialist (teacher with higher or secondary specialized, professional education)";

From each of the criteria for evaluating pedagogical personnel for the position of a specialist teacher:

- With an indicator of 60 percent and above - “certified, awarded the second qualification category (senior lecturer position)”;

- Has an indicator from 59 to 55 percent - "certified, the position of a specialist (teacher with higher or secondary specialized, professional education) is preserved”;

- With an indicator of less than 55 percent-“did not pass the certification, was recognized as not corresponding to the position of a specialist (a teacher with higher or secondary specialized, professional education).

Question: the next question is on the topic of certification. I passed an extraordinary certification. Then if I don't pass the certification, will my category be downgraded?

It is not being unloaded. The qualification category of a teacher who has not passed an extraordinary certification is not lowered, the existing category remains.

The next question: I was involved in the certification as a specialist teacher and scored less than 55 percent. When and under what conditions will I participate in the next certification?

If the certification commissions make a decision on pedagogical personnel for the positions of a specialist, a teacher with higher or secondary special, professional education “has not passed certification, does not correspond to the position of a specialist (a teacher with higher or secondary special, professional education)”, they are sent to advanced training courses on an extraordinary basis and are involved in recertification next year.

Question: what will happen if I, as a specialist teacher, am involved in the certification for the first time, who scored less than 55% and failed to pass the certification either this time or next year?

In case of recognition by the attestation commissions of pedagogical personnel involved in recertification, “who have not passed certification, do not correspond to the position of a specialist (teacher with higher or secondary specialized, professional education)”, the employment contract concluded with them by the employer is terminated in accordance with the procedure established by labor legislation.

Question: How are physical education teachers certified?

In accordance with the current legislation, the certification of physical education teachers in the public education system is carried out by the Ministry of Public Education together with the Inspectorate for Quality Control of Education. Physical education teachers don't take the test. They are certified through practical and theoretical (ticket questions) tests. There are also benefits for the following physical education teachers:

who prepared the winners of the 1st place of district (city) sports competitions – the second qualification category (senior teacher position);

- who prepared the winners of the 1st place of regional sports competitions-the first qualification category (the position of a leading teacher);