INCLUSION
3. Laws, Plans, Policies and Programmes
6. Teachers and Support Personnel
Inclusive education
Education is defined to be inclusive “if it does not exclude, does not discriminate or does not create stereotypes on a basis of gender, abilities, ethnic background, social status, health condition or any other”, in the Strategy for the development of continuous education. Including the definition of inclusive education into the 1997 Law on Education is under discussion. As specified by the Education Sector Plan (ESP) 2019-2023, an inclusive education system is not limited to accepting children with special needs into regular classes without changing the learning environment.
Special education needs
An explicit definition of special education needs has not been found.
Existing legislation does not mandate the state to provide education in inclusive settings. Both the 2008 Law on Social Protection of People with Disabilities (art.17) and the 1997 Law on Education (art.23) includes the opportunity for learners with disabilities to study in special and segregated schools, if they fail to fulfil the requirements of regular education.
According to the ESP 2019-2023, special preschool institutions number 188 and boarding schools for children with mental and/or physical disabilities number 85 across the country.
Regarding ethnic and linguistic groups, four in five schools use Uzbek as medium of instruction, while Russian, Kazakh, Karakalpak and Tajik represent the 7.6%, 3.5%, 3.3% and 2.2% of general secondary schools, respectively. Kyrgyz and Turkmen account for less than 1%.
Early identification, assessment, and screening
Disability is assessed according to a medical examination based on a list of diseases. Physical and severe sensory impairments are also recognized as disabilities, while there is less awareness of less extreme sensory impairments, mental health and behavioral development disorders.
According to the 2008 Law on the Rights of the Child, the parents select the type of education institution, either regular or special, in the interest of the child, based on the recommendations of the medical, psychological and pedagogical commission (art.29). To access regular education, a special recommendation of the commission is often required, as reported by the 2019 United Nations’ situation analysis on children and adults with disabilities in Uzbekistan.
The 1992 Constitution, as amended in 2011, enshrines the right to education for all, including free secondary education (art. 41). Particular protection is guaranteed to the rights of minor, persons with disabilities and the elderly (art.45). Promoting and protecting the interests and rights of children, the 2008 Law on the Rights of the Child reaffirms the right of every child to obtain education. To fulfil the constitutional right, it mandates the state to ensure free compulsory general secondary, secondary special, and vocational education (art.23). State support is guaranteed to orphans and children left without parental care or other legal representatives (art.27), children in socially vulnerable situations and children with disabilities (art.29).
Similar to the constitutional provision on equality and non-discrimination (art.18), the 1997 Law on Education, last amended in 2018, lays down the right to obtain education for all, “regardless of their gender, language, age, race, ethnicity, beliefs, religion, social background, occupation, social status, residence, duration of living in the Republic of Uzbekistan” (art.4). In 2018, in consultation with UNICEF, UNESCO and World Bank, the State Inspection for Supervision of Education Quality (SISEQ) worked with the Ministry of Education and other related Ministries on the revision of the Law on Education to expand its provisions and dedicate more attention to realizing inclusive education. As specified in the Education Sector Plan (ESP) 2019-2023, the new document is expected to provide a broader definition of inclusive education, ensuring equal education opportunities to all, “regardless of their background, abilities and gender”, and addressing children with all abilities.
After the signature of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2009, the National Concept of Inclusive Education was adopted to reaffirm the intention to provide quality education to all children regardless of their social, physical, and intellectual capabilities. Along these lines, the ESP 2013–2017 aimed to support the inclusion of children with special needs in regular education by, among other interventions, improving accessibility of infrastructure, raising awareness and enhancing teacher training.
In line with the National Development Strategy 2017-2021, which aims to improve the education services and expand pre-school and vocational education, the ESP 2019-2023 has planned for the strengthening of the regulatory framework for the development and implementation of an inclusive education system. The latter includes a social model for needs assessment and identification and the promotion of an accessible learning environment. Among the measures to ensure a safe and enabling learning environment, the Acceptability scheme intends to address violence and exclusion of certain groups of learners, due to gender issues and disabilities.
Disability
As stated in the 2008 Law on the Rights of the Child, education institutions are required to ensure accessibility to children with disabilities and to children with physical and/or mental development difficulties (art.25). The latter are entitled to obtain training and education according to a specifically designed programme, appropriate for their capabilities (art.29). The 2008 Law on Social Protection of People with Disabilities lays down the right of persons with disabilities to receive education from pre-school to higher education (art.6), in regular or in special settings, “in case of necessity” (art.17). With the aim to expand the system of social protection for the target group, the Decree 5325/2017 On measures for fundamental enhancement of public support system of people with disabilities includes the explicit government’s intentions to regulate the rights of people with disabilities in a comprehensive legislative document.
Existing national legislation does not include disability among the legal protections from discrimination. In education, the current version of the 1997 Law on Education replicates a medical approach for the education provision of children and youth with physical or mental disabilities, providing them with the opportunity to study in segregated special institutions (art.23). The new version of the Law on Education is expected to revise the provisions related to students with special needs and to expand their opportunity to study, including in regular, special schools or at home.
Recently, several resolutions have been adopted to facilitate the integration of learners with disabilities and to realize their inclusion. The Resolution 2519/2013 of the Ministries of Public Education, Health, Labour and Social Protection of Population, for example, includes the possibility for the Psychological-Medical and Pedagogical Committee (PMPC) to recommend education placement or transfer for learners with physical or intellectual disabilities from special schools to another specialized institution or to a regular institution that applies an inclusive setting. The latter was complemented by the Order 2685/2015 of the Ministry of Education, which specifies the type of disabilities, including mild-intellectual disabilities, hearing and/or visual impairments. In 2018, the Resolution N. 417 regulated the procedures for the admission of students with disabilities to higher education based on additional quotas.
As a matter of policy, the ESP 2019-2023 lays emphasis on the need to promote pre-school education for children with disabilities by developing a long-term strategy reflecting an inclusive approach, by enhancing educators’ capacity and by raising awareness of the advantages of inclusion. Across all levels of education, the Concept on the development of public education up to 2030 dedicates a specific section to the improvement of quality education services for children with disabilities. Among its actions, it aims to develop a mechanism to implement the right to inclusive education by proving schools with teaching aid and supportive devices, with prepared and multi-professional personnel, and with adequate infrastructure. The Strategy reaffirms the need to improve the education provision also of special schools, equipping them with adequate teaching and learning materials and reconsidering their geographical location.
The development of an inclusive education system has been also fostered by multilateral assistance. Most recently, the EU-funded project Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs 2014-2016, jointly implemented by the National Centre for Social Adaptation of Children, with support, among others, of the Ministry of Public Education, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Finance, has led to the drafting of a National Long-term Strategy on Inclusive Education. Piloted in 24 schools and 24 kindergartens, the project promoted the inclusion of 1500 children with special needs. Inclusive education services were provided, engaging pedagogical experts in special training and opening pilot resource centers in five regions of the country.
Gender
As stated in the 1992 Constitution, women and men have equal rights (art.46). However, the legislative framework protecting and promoting gender equality is incomplete. In particular, the Law on equal rights and opportunities of women and men has not been approved yet. Other legal documents formulated by the Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan (WCU) to address the concerns raised by Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee, of which Uzbekistan has been a signatory since 1995, are in a pending status, waiting for the endorsement by the presidency, including a draft law on strengthening the Committee’s activities.
Gender disparities are significant mainly in higher education. Reasons have been identified in the marriage age and in the location of higher education institutions in urban areas, which implies costs of accommodation and transportation in addition to a general reluctance to send daughters to study far from the family. Within the overall 2017 reform of higher education, the re-launch of distance education programmes in selected higher education institutions may provide an opportunity to girls and women to continue their studies.
Ethnic and linguistic groups
Uzbek is the official language of the Republic. The constitutional provision mandates the state to ensure a respectful approach towards the “languages, customs and traditions of all nationalities and ethnic groups living on its territory, and create the conditions necessary for their development.” (art.4). Likewise, the 1995 Law on the State language, as amended in 2017 reiterates that “all necessary conditions are provided for citizens to learn the state language, to respect the languages of other ethnic groups and people living in the country; and to provide them with the opportunity to choose the language of instruction (art.4). While general, vocational, technical and high education is provided in the state language and in other languages (art.6), pre-school instruction is in Uzbek, and other languages are guaranteed in areas of residence of national linguistic groups (art.5).
Upon request of parents and students, special training groups can be set up to teach the native language of local linguistic groups in cities, districts, towns, villages and nomadic villages. General education is provided in seven languages, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Russian, Tajik, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Kazakh. However, provision is currently challenged by the shortage of available teachers.
People living in rural or remote areas
The ESP 2019-2023 identifies students of small schools, located in remote, mountainous, or desert areas as one of the most vulnerable groups of learners in terms of access to quality education, in particular due to the shortage of available and prepared teachers. These schools are included in the programme of infrastructure modernization
As regards pre-school education, the new model of less costly half-day provision in rural areas, introduced in 2013 within the Improving Preprimary and General Secondary Education Project and with support of the World Bank and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), has increased access.
Poverty
Particular attention is paid to providing support to children from low-income households and to the education and care of orphans and children without parental care, in accordance with the 2008 Law on the Rights of the Child (art. 27). The 2008 Regulation On the procedures of paying fees to pre-schools and boarding schools, approved by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, exempt low-income households from paying fees. In 2010, a joint resolution of the Ministry of Public Education and Higher and Secondary Special Education was approved on the provision of additional, fee-based services in educational institutions.
As part of the state assistance, children from poor households have been provided with winter clothing since 2002.
The education system is regulated and governed by the Ministry of Public Education (MoPE), the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education (MHSSE) and the Ministry of Preschool Education (MPSE). The latter was established in 2017 as part of the reform of the pre-school system. However, cross-sectoral collaboration among line ministries remains weak.
School education management is structured in three levels, namely the Ministry, territorial and district authorities, for pre‐school, general secondary and out‐of‐school education, while the latter are not involved in specialized secondary vocational education. Higher education is managed exclusively at the national level.
Concerning gender, the Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan (WCU), established in 1991 and led by the deputy prime minister, acts nationwide through a network of branches in every local administrative–territorial institution.
Infrastructure
Accessibility of transport, facilities and information, including social infrastructure, is regulated by national legislation, which also imposes fines in case of non-compliance. However, as reported by the 2019 United Nations' situation analysis on children and adults with disabilities in Uzbekistan, the legislative provisions remain unimplemented.
Curriculum
The curriculum for certain type of special schools is currently restricted. In addition, the current legislative and policy framework does not refer to adapted assessment and entry examinations to higher education for people with disabilities, challenging their access to colleges or universities.
With support of UNICEF, the government is currently revising the national curriculum.
Learning materials
In 2004, within the Basic Textbook Development Project for secondary schools, the Asian Development Bank analyzed the efficiency of textbook production to increase the quality and relevance of basic education with particular attention to gender. The Second Textbook Development Project followed in 2009–to provide affordable learning and teaching materials and to give the opportunity for students from poor households to borrow them free of charge.
The strengthening of the training and preparation of educators’ and pedagogical staff has been addressed in specific government measures. In particular, the 2006 Resolution on the Further Development of the System for Re-training of Pedagogical Staff specified the requirements for in-service teacher training, to occur no less than once in three years. Yet, despite their mandatory nature, professional development opportunities are limited.
Disability
Currently, annual 40-hour courses on inclusive education have been established, while the Republican Centre for Social Adaptation of Children has introduced a 24-hour programme within an inclusive education project, approved by the Tashkent State Pedagogical University.
The ESP 2013-2023 recognizes the need to raise the capacity of teachers to address the diversity of education needs of learners. Likewise, the Concept on the development of public education up to 2030 raises the issue of introducing appropriate programmes of teacher training on inclusion in higher education institutions.
Ethnic and linguistic groups
Although education provision is provided multiple languages, teacher training is only provided in three languages, namely Uzbek, Russian and Karakalpak. Since training institutions providing re‐training and professional development lack capacity, teachers teaching in Kazakh, Tajik, Turkmen and Kyrgyz receive trainings either in Uzbek or in Russian.
People living in rural or remote areas
Small schools in rural and remote areas are affected by teacher shortage and in addition the latter are not able to attend regular continuous education. To address the issue, the ESP 2019-2023 recognizes the need for flexible in-service training.
As part of the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2010-2015, UNESCO has assisted the Ministry of Public Education with the development of an Education Management Information System (EMIS), piloting the software for data collection and analysis in five schools. The finalization and scaling up of the system is in progress. At present, it includes the School Information System and it is expected to be expanded to integrate information from other Ministries. The Ministry of Preschool Education is currently piloting a subsector EMIS on preschool data with the purpose of harmonizing the information and creating an integrated version across subsectors. Figures about education are also reported by the Open Data Portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
As regards children with special education needs, existing data are limited. Data is collected by the National Statistics Committee and line ministries but reported only about learners in special schools and about children with an official disability certificate receiving education in special or regular schools, still reflecting a medical approach in disability categorization.
