Over 1,500 Teachers in Uzbekistan Implement International Standards of Continuing Professional Development

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Within the framework of cooperation between the Ministry of Preschool and School Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the British Council, more than 1,500 teachers of English and other subjects have participated in the “School Champions” project, mastering the CPD (Continuing Professional Development) model.

The approach was developed and is being implemented by the British Council in collaboration with the Norwich Institute for Language Education (United Kingdom).

On 13–14 February, the Continuing Professional Development Festival brought together school champions from 218 general education institutions — English teachers and national consultants. Thanks to their efforts, over 1,300 additional teachers of English and other disciplines were able to join CPD activities.

The main goal of the Festival was to summarize outcomes and recognize the achievements of initiative participants.

Launched in 2023, the “School Champions” project has shown steady growth: over 4,500 events in the format of continuing professional development have been organized since its inception.

The Festival was held as a series of practice-oriented workshops, during which participants discussed effective mechanisms for scaling CPD practices and their wider dissemination across schools nationwide.

According to Jamila Gulyamova, Deputy Director of the British Council in Uzbekistan, fostering a culture in which schools serve as active learning centers is a key condition for sustainable educational change.

She noted that teachers and school leaders who prioritize their own professional development serve as important role models for students and help cultivate lifelong learning skills.

Gulyamova emphasized that the project contributes significantly to national reforms in teacher professional development, and the number of schools joining the nationwide CPD community continues to grow.

The Festival is implemented with support from the British Council and funded by the Government of the United Kingdom as part of its international development program. The event is part of the regional initiative Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA), aimed at supporting reforms in English language teaching, improving teacher training, and developing inclusive education systems in Central Asian countries. The academic partner of the program is the Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE, United Kingdom).