Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan

language

The state language of Uzbekistan is Uzbek. The second most important language is Russian, which is spoken by a significant part of the population and is widespread in the country. City dwellers have a much better command of Russian than rural dwellers. Although the Russian language does not have any status in the country, a significant part of official documents, reports, etc. are published or duplicated in Russian, this language is widespread in all spheres of activity. In schools, teaching Russian is compulsory and is taught from the second grade. A network of state educational institutions, including higher educational institutions in Russian, has survived and continues to operate on the territory of Uzbekistan. There are many Russian-language newspapers and magazines in Uzbekistan, as well as 848 Russian-language schools with a total of 372,256 students (2013).

Compulsory study of English and other foreign languages ​​is one of the priorities of the state. This language is also compulsory for teaching in schools. Since the 2013/2014 academic year, a compulsory study of a foreign language (mainly English, but also German, French) has been introduced from the first grade at school (before that, schoolchildren began to study foreign languages ​​from the fifth grade)

In addition to the Uzbek language, which is the state language throughout the country, other languages ​​are also used in a number of regions. So, on the territory of the Sovereign Republic of Karakalpakstan, the Karakalpak language is also official. In the Sokh district of the Fergana region, which is surrounded on all sides by the territory of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, 99.4% of the population (about 58 thousand people) are ethnic Tajiks. There are 24 schools, 2 lyceums and 2 colleges with Tajik language of instruction in the district. Mass media, schools, lyceums, colleges and branches of universities in the Tajik language function in Surkhandarya, Samarkand, Bukhara, Namangan and other regions with a compact Tajik population. In the Tashkent and Navoi regions, as well as in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, there are schools and departments of universities with the Kazakh language of instruction. In the Khorezm region and the Republic of Karakalpakstan, there are schools with the Turkmen language of instruction.

In total, in addition to Uzbek schools, there are 848 Russian, 417 Kazakh, 377 Karakalpak, 256 Tajik, 60 Kyrgyz, 43 Turkmen schools.