The new science aims to develop students ’initial skills in geography, biology, physics, chemistry and astronomy.

Now the knowledge and skills in these subjects are formed in students from the 1st grade. Within the framework of the national curriculum, the knowledge and skills to be formed in students through the subject of "Natural Sciences" were identified in each class.

In order for students to have sufficient skills and competencies in the primary grades, there was a need to increase the number of class hours allocated to the new subject in the primary grades, based on international experience. In this regard, in the 6th grade, instead of geography, biology and physics, which last 2 hours a week (6 hours in total), a single, 3-hour-a-week "Natural Sciences" was introduced.

In turn, the remaining 3 hours of the week were transferred to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th grades in the framework of "Natural Sciences". That is, these classes were given 1 hour per week, for a total of 3 hours.

The amount of knowledge required to be taught in geography at school and the number of hours allocated to it in the general plan have not been reduced.

Among other disciplines, geography is included in the "Natural Sciences", and in general, in the program, the number of geographical topics increased from 291 to 387, ie 96 topics.

 In this context, the conclusions that social science is at risk of disappearing on social media are unfounded.

What about the world experience?

"Natural sciences" are taught in most developed countries of the world. In particular, when the UK experience is studied, the natural sciences are taught as a single subject, integrated in grades 1-6.

The combined teaching of natural sciences in the lower grades helps students to imagine the world as a whole, to carry out project work on science topics, to develop research skills, to increase students' activity, to improve critical thinking skills, to direct them to creativity.

Such changes in the content of education in the framework of the national curriculum are beneficial for students by training personnel with skills that are in high demand in the labor market in accordance with international standards in the field of economics.

What opportunities does the introduction of a new subject create for teachers?

The national curriculum includes 8 hours a week of geography. It should be noted that if geography teachers successfully complete a short-term retraining course in "Natural Sciences", they will have the opportunity to teach 11 hours (as a result, they can teach 11 hours instead of the current 10 hours).

At the same time, the Ministry is studying the possibility of allocating additional hours to further increase economic knowledge of students, taking into account the tasks set to modernize the program in accordance with international requirements.

If an additional course is introduced in this area, it will also be an additional opportunity for geography teachers.