Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- News is spreading on the Internet about plans to study Russian as a “second native language” in the preschool educational institution of Uzbekistan. The Ministry of Preschool Education of Uzbekistan (MDO) asks to take into account that this information is distorted and does not correspond to reality.

Actually:

- in the educational process of preschool education, the study of a second language is provided (if there are teachers). This language can be any, including Russian;

- if desired, parents can send a child to a group with the Russian language of communication and education;

- in the preschool educational institution, in groups with the Uzbek language of instruction, it is also provided for the teaching of children at an elementary basic level of the Russian language, in groups with the Russian language of instruction in the state language, as well as in the presence of teachers in other languages: English, German, Korean, etc.

Currently, the main issue that must be resolved in order to ensure the teaching of children in a second language is the availability of specialists. That is why the Ministry of Preschool Education is carrying out work on training personnel in this direction. In particular, new specialists in the preschool education system capable of teaching, including in English and Russian, are being trained at the branch of Bucheon University in Tashkent and will be trained at the branch of the Russian Pedagogical University named after A.I. Herzen, which is scheduled to open in 2021;

- it is not planned to introduce the wording “second native language” into preschool education in Uzbekistan.