The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) handed over approximately 500,000 new, high-quality textbooks and teacher’s guides to the Ministry of Public Education today. The learning materials will be used in Grades 1-4 for Uzbek Language Arts and Mathematics instruction. The books were developed through a partnership of USAID, the Ministry of Public Education and the Republican Education Center. The new learning materials will be piloted in 919 public schools in the Namangan and Syrdarya regions during the 2022-2023 school year.

“Today, we are here to start the distribution of new Mathematics and Uzbek Language Arts books. We developed,  through our international partnership with USAID,  new Mathematics and Uzbek Language Arts textbooks and innovative teacher guides that support student-centered learning and new teaching approaches. The Ministry is focused on improving the reading and mathematics skills in the early grades. These skills provide students the necessary foundational skills to succeed in later grades and life,” said Shukhrat Sattorov, Director of the Republican Education Center.

“The development of these new books marks an important milestone in our partnership with the Ministry of Public Education. We are proud of the progress achieved through our continued collaboration with the Ministry to improve student learning outcomes in foundational literacy and numeracy skills,” said Luann Gronhovd, Acting Director of USAID’s Mission in Uzbekistan.

During the 2021-2022 school year, a team of national and international specialists collaborated with primary school teachers in Uzbekistan to develop the Uzbek Language Arts and Mathematics textbooks and teacher’s guides. The new materials feature engaging content and integrate student-centered teaching methods and activities. After the initial pilot is complete, the books will be revised again based on teacher and student feedback, and final versions will be printed by the Ministry of Public Education.

Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, all students in Grades 1-4, over two million children in total, will begin using the new textbooks, and all of Uzbekistan’s teachers will have access to user-friendly, student-centered teacher’s guides. Improved early grade language arts and mathematics instruction will lead to stronger student performance in these foundational skills and will support Uzbekistan’s goal of producing graduates with 21st century skills.