Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- As children return to school this week across Uzbekistan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Uzbekistan call on stakeholders to reimagine education, focusing on inclusivity and quality education both at pre-school and school levels, UNICEF said in a statement.

Young children from the poorest households in Europe and Central Asia are 2.5 times more likely to fall behind in foundational literacy and numeracy skills.  Meanwhile in Uzbekistan, many children still perform below expected levels as recent independent studies highlight how 30% of primary school age students at the end of grade 4 cannot read and comprehend grade-level texts.

Available reports also show a difference of over 20 percent in terms of access between students with and students without disabilities in 1-9 grades, and that difference is more than twice as large (46%) for access to upper-secondary education (UN 2019).

In 2023, UNICEF has supported the Government of Uzbekistan in the development a National Partnership Compact for Education Reform, which brings together Government, Development Partners, teachers, parents, students, and school communities around identified strategic shifts towards transformative quality education. 

The Compact aligns to the commitments of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Global Transforming Education Summit of the 77th UN General Assembly, which also highlighted the “urgent need to reignite political and financial commitment to education as a global public good and accelerate progress towards realizing Sustainable Development Goal 4.”

Under the Partnership Compact Development Partners undersigned their commitment to support the operationalization of the education strategic reforms, including through mobilization of over $600 million to be invested in education support in the next three years.

“We have momentum to ensure the tenets of inclusion and quality in the Uzbekistan Education sector are met. As children go back to the classroom, it is my sincere hope that classrooms deliver quality, are inclusive and provide safe schooling. We should all strive to have schools where every girl and boy's potential is nurtured," said Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative in Uzbekistan.

To ensure every child, everywhere has access to quality education, UNICEF is actively supporting inclusive educational policies, strengthening education and accompanying social support systems, and encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion in homes, schools and communities. The education reform agenda will need to prioritize evidence-based solutions to create safer, protective and inclusive learning environments to help all children reach their full potential.

“Inclusive education is child-centred (rather than curriculum-centred) and ensures better learning outcomes for all children by employing pedagogy that responds to the needs of every child, including children with disabilities and those in need of additional support” said Alberto Biancoli, Chief of Education, UNICEF Uzbekistan.

In this important week, UNICEF calls on Development Partners and the Government to sustain their commitments, guided by international conventions, to guarantee that all children, including children with disabilities and marginalised children have equitable access to quality education, and the same rights and freedoms as their peers.