Uzbekistan plans to introduce mandatory one-year school preparation for six-year-old children from 2027

Mandatory school preparation from 2027

Uzbekistan is preparing to transition to mandatory one-year school preparation for all six-year-old children. As Daryo.uz reports, on 10 November 2026, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree “On measures to implement national programs aimed at exalting human honor and dignity.” The document approves seven national programs and action plans for their implementation for 2027–2031.

What the program provides for

Under one of the programs, starting in 2027, 100 percent of six-year-old children are planned to be covered by mandatory one-year school preparation. Preparatory groups will be free of charge. Practical preparation begins already before December 2026: the regions will study the demand for such groups and determine the required number of teachers and equipment. In 2027–2028, the premises where the groups will open will be furnished with furniture and other necessary equipment.

Additional measures in preschool education

The decree also provides for other steps. From 2026, with the support of the Asian Development Bank, 500 preschool educational organizations are planned to be created on the basis of public-private partnerships in the Samarkand, Jizzakh, Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya and Tashkent regions. State support for opening private kindergartens will continue: by April 2027, a regulatory document will be prepared on allocating land plots and launching preferential loans for private preschool institutions. For teachers of private kindergartens, an LMS educational platform “Tarbiyachi” will be created with video lessons on modern pedagogical methods, methodological guides, tests and interactive lessons. Subsidies are also planned to be allocated taking into account the quality of education.