Sector Assistance Program Evaluation on Education in Uzbekistan

D. 
The Education System in Uzbekistan 
19. 
Preceded by a preschool preparation up to 6 years of age, the school education system 
of Uzbekistan consists of 12 years divided as follows: (i) primary education of 4 years (grades 
1–4); (ii) junior secondary education of 5 years (grades 5–9);
20
and (iii) SSE, a compulsory
21
3-
year system (grades 10–12). Higher education in Uzbekistan comprises undergraduate 
(bachelor) programs of 4 years, master’s programs of 2 years, and doctorate programs of 3–6 
years. 
20. 
After independence, the education sector in Uzbekistan faced major challenges. GDP 
declined and government resources shrank, adversely affecting the sector’s performance. The 
government, however, attached a high priority to education and was determined to restructure 
the system. It has since carried out a number of reforms and is committed to building a high-
quality education system. In the 2006–07 school year, there were 9,800 daytime secondary 
schools (21.4% urban and 78.6% rural) with 5.7 million students (31.6% urban and 68.4% 
rural).
22
Schools are grouped into clusters and the lead schools. Likewise, recent data suggests 
that Uzbekistan has 99 functioning academic lyceums
23
and 953 vocational colleges with about 
50,000 teachers and 588,000 students.
24
 
21. 
The education system before independence was so different that Uzbekistan had to 
virtually start anew and address a whole range of issues on policy, planning, governance, and 
management of education. The need to upgrade teaching skills, techniques, and tools; improve 
the curriculum; and provide for adequate resources was also apparent.
The government, to its 
credit, is fully committed to establishing an educational system of international standards. 
Education accounted for approximately 30.1% of total public expenditure in 2008, equivalent to 
6.7% of GDP in the same year (footnote 11).
18
Per capita income that was growing in the mid-1990s at only 2% annually has steadily reached a growth rate of 
about 9% in 2009. 
19
Uzbekistan had 47% of population with income below $2.15 (purchasing power parity) and a Gini coefficient of 0.35 
(the highest among the Central Asian countries, although only marginally) in UNDP. 2005. Central Asia Human 
Development Report
. Bratislava. 
20
The nomenclature to describe stages of education is different across development agencies. For example, ADB 
lumps primary and junior secondary education under basic education (grades 1–9), whereas documents of the 
government, the World Bank, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation refer to general school education.
21
With full effect from 2010 (footnote 11, Appendix 3, para. 88). 
22
UNESCO. 2008. Central Asia – Education for All (EFA) Mid-Decade Assessment, Synthesis Report. Almaty (p. 
132). 
23
Lyceums seem to be located proportionately more in the developed urban centers than in the rural areas. 
24
Footnote 22, p. 134. Despite expansion of school buildings, schools in urban centers tend to be over-crowded. This 
is particularly true for the reputed schools. 

---

7
22. 
As to the government agencies responsible for the education sector, MOPE administers 
basic-education schools (grades 1–9) and MOHSSE oversees secondary specialized vocational 
education (grades 10–12) such as academic lyceums and vocational colleges (Figure 2).