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Uzbekistan
Instruction
In the early 1990s, the thirty-six technical schools and six
teacher colleges produced about 20,000 new teachers annually for
the primary and secondary levels, and another 20,000 for higher
education. In 1993 the ratio of staff to students was 1 to 12
in preschool institutions, 1 to 11.5 in primary and secondary
schools, 1 to 12 in vocational schools, and 1 to 6.8 in institutions
of higher education. The range of these ratios indicates that
Uzbekistan prepares too many teachers for the needs of the existing
student population, but experts do not consider the existing staff
adequately trained to deal with upcoming curriculum changes and
with the need to teach in Uzbek.
Experts have noted that the teacher training program must be
reduced to concentrate government funds on a few high-quality
research and training centers. Such a shift would free resources
for material support, salaries, and administrative and supervisory
personnel, all in short supply in the mid-1990s. Currently, teachers
for preschool and grades one through four are trained at technical
schools; those for grades five through eleven must train at the
university level. The technical school program is five years beginning
after grade nine, and the university program is four years beginning
after grade eleven. Both programs combine pedagogical and general
courses.
In the early 1990s, the government made significant improvements
in teacher salaries and benefits. Many top teachers were lost
to other sectors, however, because salaries still were not competitive
with those elsewhere in the economy. In higher education, salaries
were competitive with those in other occupations in Uzbekistan
but not with those on the international teaching market.
Data as of March 1996
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