Almost 50% of teachers in regions failed foreign language proficiency tests

On May 6, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a videoconference meeting, during which measures to improve the system of teaching foreign languages were discussed.

As the presidential press service reported, Uzbekistan’s policy of openness, active entry into the world market, expansion of international cooperation in all areas increase the need for knowledge of foreign languages.

Today, education in foreign languages is conducted in 25 universities of the country. In 2016, there were only 7 such universities. Over the past 3 years, the number of applicants who have received an international language certificate has increased by 10 times.

This year 350 students received grants to study at prestigious foreign universities through the “El-Yurt Umidi” Foundation, which is five times more than in previous years.

“However, the current state of the system of teaching foreign languages at places does not allow effectively solving the large-scale tasks set in this area. There are more than 2 thousand vacancies for a foreign language teacher in the education system. The quality of teaching languages in 1.4 thousand schools is assessed as extremely low. Only 4% of school teachers have national and international language certificates,” the statement reads. 

It also became known that there is no single teacher with a certificate in the cities of Khanabad and Kuvasay, Zafarabad, Mirishkor, Turtkul, Sherabad and Uzun districts. 49% of teachers failed language tests.

At the meeting, these and other problems in the field were comprehensively analyzed, priority tasks were identified.

“The time has come to create a new system of teaching foreign languages in Uzbekistan, which will become a solid foundation for the future. Since we set ourselves the goal of building a competitive state, from now on, graduates of schools, lyceums, colleges and universities must be fluent in at least two foreign languages. This strict requirement should become the main criterion for the work of the head of each educational institution,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.