FINANCING FOR EQUITY
1. Overall Education Financing Mechanisms
2. Policies and Programmes to Provide Resources to Schools
3. Education Policies and Programmes to Provide Resources to Students and Families
4. Social Policies and Programmes to Provide Resources to Students and their Families
In Uzbekistan 11 years of education are compulsory and free, including pre-school, primary and secondary education (4-15 years old). Nevertheless, in 2000, households spent in average SOM 528 -568 (USD 7-USD 7.5) or 3.1% -12.8% of the household budget per pupil on students from 7 to 15 years old.
Public education is financed from the public budget, divided into three levels: central budget, regional budget and local budget. The central budget finances higher education, educational establishments, and academic lyceums under higher educational establishments. Regional budgets finance vocational colleges and academic lyceums not under higher educational establishments. Local administration bodies mainly finance the current costs of pre-schools, specialized, and general schools while the biggest share of expenses on capital investment is covered from regional budgets.
Each local administration estimates its annual budgets on the basis of revenues and projected expenditures. Central government subsidizes the local budget deficit. Regional and local administrative bodies responsible for public education calculate the number of children expected to enroll in pre-schools, primary and secondary general, and vocational educational establishments for the next year. They also estimate the cost of services to be provided and forecast local tax revenues and any potential budget deficit. Local branches of the Ministry of Finance consolidate local budgets and submit them to the Ministry of Finance, including any required allocations from the central budget.
The State System of Social Budgeting for Children’s wellbeing follows the child’s lifecyle, including education, healthcare and social benefits. Some budget lines of the yearly national budget target specific vulnerable groups, such as students with disabilities, orphans and children from disadvantaged households.
Students in an educational institution receive benefits, scholarships, and accommodation. Children and adolescents with disabilities have access to specialized educational institutions for training, education and treatment including long treatment. Students from specialized educational institutions receive partial or full state support. The funding for state educational institutions comes from Republican and local budgets, as well as from extrabudgetary funds.
Total education expenditure in 2017 was USD 3.12 billion (6.4% of GDP). The Education spending as share of government budget in 2017 was 32.4%. In 2017, the public education sector budget was allocated to secondary education (55.6%), to secondary specialized vocational education (19.6%), to pre-school (11.3%), and USD 8.82 million or 0.3%3 of the education budget4 to the education of orphans.
Children with disabilities
There are 88 schools for children with mental or physical disabilities and 215 sanatorium-boarding schools for children suffering from different diseases (scoliosis, tuberculosis).These schools served 25800 students in 2006.
Early childhood for vulnerable children
The Government received USD 9.5 million for the period 2019—2024 to increase access to early childhood education. One of the program’s components is to increase access to early learning environments through Alternative Models of ECD service provision targeting vulnerable and hard to reach children aged 0 to 6 years (USD 4.5 million6). Targeting strategies will be through Mahallas (community-based administrations) and based on the universal social security coverage.
Children from low income households
Annually up to 80,000 children of low-income families (15% of the total low income families) are exempted from parent’s fees for Preschools. Annually, more than 14,0008 children are provided with waivers from parental fees for studying at Barkamol Avlod centres.
Orphans/children without parental care
Orphanage students in boarding schools, secondary vocational schools, special higher and secondary educational institutions, are fully supported by the state, including their employment, clothing, shoes, and equipment, as well as cash allocation. Over 5,1009 children and teenagers, including 1,600 orphans and children without parental care live and study in homes and boarding schools. The state dedicates USD 8.82 million or 0.3% of the 2017 education budget10 to the education of orphans.
According to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (2008), Uzbekistan has social assistance including maternal allowance, childcare allowance and allowances to poor families. Child allowance for households with children aged 16 years and below benefit 31.9% of households (corresponding to 1.7 million approved applications). The average allowance is SOM 13144 (corresponding to USD 1.38). Maternal allowances for unemployed mothers with children aged 2 years and below benefit 49.1% of the women within the target group. The average allowance is SOM 20740 (corresponding to USD 2.18). The attribution is based on an application process, and in the assessment of socio-economic criteria.
