The Government of Japan provides US$1.3 million worth of emergency and IT equipment to Kyrgyzstan’s schools

BISHKEK, 22 May 2023 – Today, at Strelnikova school in Arashan village, Chui Oblast,  Erjigit Ibraimov, the representative of Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Hideki Goda, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan, and Christine Jaulmes, UNICEF Representative in Kyrgyzstan, participated in a handover ceremony for emergency preparedness equipment and observed an earthquake response simulation exercise.

The equipment handed over to the schools includes essential items such as megaphones, manual sirens, fire boards, evacuation stretchers, first-aid kits, disaster risk information boards and handles for emergency doors. These sets were procured as part of the "Enhancing the resilience of children to climate and disaster risks in the Kyrgyz Republic" project, which is being implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Emergency Situations with funding from the Japan Government. The project is intended to benefit 900,000 schoolchildren across 1,800 schools.

Ambassador Goda noted: “Today the Government of Japan provides emergency equipment in school. With this equipment, students will be able to study in school without anxiety. Japanese people have drills regularly in school and community for preparing against disasters. I have personally participated in those drills in Japan.”

The project is supporting the implementation of the State Programme entitled "Safe Schools and Pre-schools in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2015-2024". In the first three-year phase (2017-2020), more than 65,000 children in over 121 schools across the country were able to build their resilience to disasters.

“There are over a million schoolchildren in Kyrgyzstan. Since most of them live in disaster-prone areas, we need to ensure that schools have all the equipment they need to be prepared for emergency response. We also ensure through this project that they acquire the necessary skills and that schools have clear emergency preparedness plans. We thank the Government of Japan for its generous support to school safety and its contributions to quality education,” stated Christine Jaulmes.

In addition to the emergency preparedness equipment, and through another project supported by the Government of Japan, complete computer sets have been distributed to selected schools in new settlements of Bishkek and Osh, as well as rural areas. These schools were identified by the Ministry of Education and Science as strategic points for enhancing digital learning and improving student numeracy and literacy skills.

This project was designed to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education. It will continue until August 2024, contributing to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”