Early childhood care and education is the foundation for future success in education, work, and life

TASHKENT, 1 October 2024 – Today, when Uzbekistan is celebrating the Teachers’ Day, UNICEF Uzbekistan extends a heartfelt thank you to all school and preschool teachers across Uzbekistan.

While celebrating educators at all levels, UNICEF is using this occasion to shine a spotlight on preschool teachers in Uzbekistan, who play a critical role in nurturing foundational skills and offering emotional support essential for the development of young children.

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) covers a crucial phase in human development, laying the foundation for future success in education, work, and life. Research shows that investments in high-quality ECCE are essential to lifelong learning, improving the efficiency of education systems, and fostering human capital development. For every $1 invested in ECCE there is a $13 return.

Improving teacher training curricula, both at pre-service and in-service levels, will contribute significantly to the government's overall strategy for raising the quality of preschool education.

“By focusing on each child's unique needs, interests, and developmental stages, Uzbekistan can build a preschool system that not only prepares children for academic success but also nurtures well-rounded, responsible citizens,” says Regina Castillo, UNICEF Representative in Uzbekistan.

UNICEF works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Preschool and School Education towards enhancing the professional development system for preschool educators.

Teachers play a key role in creating a child-centered learning environment. Ensuring their continuous professional development and training is critical to enable them to create rich, responsive environments that promote interaction, creativity, and problem-solving. Teachers need to be trained to support children in expressing their ideas in various ways, whether through art, play, or conversation. This in turn enable young minds to blossom and actively engage in future learning and societies.

Following the recent Presidential Resolution #231 of 21.06.2024 “On Additional Measures to Improve the System of Continuous Professional Development of Employees of Preschool and School Education Organizations”, UNICEF is currently supporting the establishment and equipment of the eleven regional in-service pre-school teacher training centers as part of a larger ECCE project funded by the Islamic Development Bank.

Further, UNICEF Uzbekistan leverages international best practices, introducing digital technology in support of teachers and parents in early childhood education. Currently, more than 372,000 users, mostly parents are accessing Bebbo application and more than 25,700 teachers (Over 15% of total ECE teachers) are benefiting from the ECE teacher training platform, Learning Passport for early childhood education. In particular, Learning Passport is being used as a tool for enhancing teacher professional development system and introduce different learning opportunities for teachers, including blended learning for in-service teacher training system.

UNICEF will continue its efforts to support Uzbekistan in modernizing the professional development system of all teachers by adopting a child-centered approach. This is a key step towards fostering a new generation of creative, empathetic, and empowered individuals.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better

world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children in Uzbekistan, visit www.unicef.uz Follow UNICEF on Twitter| Facebook| Instagram

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