Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan will establish the Abdulla Avloni State Prize to recognise outstanding teachers, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in a congratulatory message to teachers and mentors on Teachers’ and Mentors’ Day, marked on 1 October. The presidential press service reported this.
“I am convinced that this will inspire you to reach even greater heights,” Mirziyoyev said in his message.
The president cited figures on teachers’ working conditions. Some 40,000 teachers currently receive salaries of US$1,000, while 1,500 teachers earn more than US$2,000.
This year, the Teacher of the Year competition was held in a new format, with 208 winners of the district and city stages receiving cash awards for the first time — 616 million soums each. Similar incentive mechanisms will be introduced next year for kindergarten educators and technical college instructors.
According to Mirziyoyev, kindergartens with 1.8 million places and schools with 1.5 million student places have been built across the country over the past decade. More than 10,000 kindergartens and schools have been modernised.
Presidential, specialised and creative schools have also been established. The number of higher education institutions has increased from 77 to 205, while higher education coverage has reached 45%.
Mirziyoyev also highlighted students’ achievements. In 2026, Uzbek schoolchildren won 228 medals at international olympiads, including prize-winning results at international chemistry and informatics olympiads held in Uzbekistan.
The number of students who obtained certificates in foreign languages and academic subjects during their studies reached 100,000. Around 5,000 school graduates achieved the highest score in university entrance examinations.
In the PISA ranking, 15-year-old students from Uzbekistan rose by 32 positions to 48th place.
In higher education, 185 educational programmes have received international accreditation. Universities have also introduced 441 joint programmes with foreign universities.
The president said that a decade ago, parents were primarily concerned about accumulated problems in the education system, while the prestige of the teaching profession had declined. Today, he said, the sector is developing dynamically, with a private sector and a healthy competitive environment taking shape.
Mirziyoyev described the next decade as an era of national progress. He said efforts to instil in children a love for their homeland and respect for history and culture would be organised in a new way across families, mahallas, schools, technical colleges and higher education institutions.
