The key facts

  • Shortage of places: 141,000 in schools and 65,000 in kindergartens; by the 2030/2031 academic year the school place shortage could grow to 212,000
  • By 2030: 126,000 school places and 40,000 kindergarten places; preschool enrollment coverage should rise from 79.2% to 92%
  • For the 2026/2027 academic year, projects for 24 schools with 38,000 places and 28 kindergartens with 16,000 places have been prepared

Shortage of places and plans until 2030

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on October 15 reviewed a presentation of projects for landscaping and building schools and kindergartens in Tashkent, the press service of the head of state reported. According to the presented data, in the 2025/2026 academic year the shortage of student places in the capital was 141,000. Over the next five years, the number of schoolchildren is expected to grow by another 71,000, or 14%, and by the 2030/2031 academic year the shortage of places could reach 212,000. To reduce the shortage, by 2030 it is planned to create 126,000 additional student places: 48,000 from the republican budget and 78,000 from the local one. This should lower the school occupancy coefficient from the current 1.4 to 1.2 by 2030.

New schools and updated standard designs

For the 2026/2027 academic year, projects for 24 new schools with 38,000 places and a total area of 64,600 square meters have been prepared. The standard designs of educational institutions are intended to include 17 new solutions: additional learning spaces, libraries, multifunctional halls for sports and cultural events, and rooms for teachers. The buildings will be equipped with ramps, elevators, inclusive education classrooms, medical rooms and security systems. Installing motion and water consumption sensors is estimated to reduce electricity consumption by up to 20% and water by up to 10%. According to the developers' estimates, the new solutions will reduce land requirements by 50%, increase the efficiency of area use per student by 15%, triple the area of sports grounds and increase the overall efficiency of standard designs by 40%. Cooperation between public schools and private educational centers is also planned, so that students can prepare for university admission and study foreign languages directly at schools.

Kindergartens

Tashkent is home to 253,000 children aged three to seven, with preschool enrollment coverage at 79.2%, while 65,000 places are lacking. By 2030, it is planned to create 40,000 additional places: 8,000 from the republican budget and 32,000 from the local one. Preschool enrollment coverage is expected to grow to 92% by 2030. For the 2026/2027 academic year, projects for 28 new kindergartens of five types with 16,000 places and a total area of 32,000 square meters have been prepared. The standard designs will include 14 new solutions: sensory and speech therapy rooms, rooms for psychological and pedagogical assistance, medical blocks, multifunctional halls, video surveillance and injury-safe flooring, as well as air purifiers, energy-efficient lighting and solar panels. The efficiency of standard kindergarten designs, according to the developers' estimates, will increase by 38%.

Context

From 2017 to 2026, 13 new schools were built in Tashkent, 7 of them in 2021. Amid the rapid growth in the number of students, the authorities intend to create at least 15,000 new places annually. The capital's khokim Shavkat Umurzakov said in an interview with Gazeta that the shortage of places in schools and kindergartens can be eliminated within three years. In early October, construction of 12 modern schools began in Tashkent together with the company BI GROUP; by the beginning of the next academic year, 18,000 new student places should appear. Additionally, a project for building 16 modern kindergartens has been developed.