The leadership of Uzbekistan's Ministry of Preschool and School Education stated at a press conference on April 21 that it is strictly against the practice of forcing teachers to participate in school repair work and collecting money from parents for such purposes. Minister E'zoza Karimova emphasized that the ministry's position is firm and that collecting money for repairs has never been legalized.

According to the minister, school and kindergarten repairs should be funded from local budgets and fall under the jurisdiction of local authorities (hokimiyats). She repeatedly expressed strong opposition to what is colloquially known as 'yig'di-yig'di' (collection drives) among parents.

Deputy Minister Temur Komilov reported that for 2026, the state budget allocated 63.7 trillion soums to the ministry, of which 84.7% (53.969 trillion soums) goes to salaries for over 1 million staff in 10,200 schools and 7,000 state kindergartens. The remaining funds are used for capital construction and various competitions.

Komilov outlined several sources for repair funding: the 'Initiative Budget' project, the 'Mahalla Development' project in cooperation with international financial institutions (ADB, EBRD), and targeted funds allocated to districts and cities. However, he admitted that not all 10,200 schools receive sufficient funding simultaneously to prepare for the academic year.

The deputy minister strongly condemned the practice of using teachers as laborers: 'A teacher is not a laborer to be involved in repair work during the preparation for the school year.' He noted that over 24 trillion soums have been directed to capital construction and material-technical base improvement of schools and kindergartens from 2016 to 2026, but shortcomings still exist.

Komilov urged citizens to report any cases of illegal money collection or forced teacher labor to the ministry, promising to work together to prevent such practices.

Source: www.gazeta.uz