The Ministry of Preschool Education presented mobile and modular kindergartens

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - On 4 October 2019, a presentation of mobile and modular preschool educational organizations was held.

They are intended for remote rural areas, mountainous areas and inaccessible settlements in which the construction of a standard kindergartens is impossible.

At the presentation of alternative forms of preschool education, the Ministry of Preschool Education of Uzbekistan presented 16 converted buses, 2 models of parking lots with playgrounds, and 2 modular kindergartens.

Mobile kindergartens based on Isuzu HC 40 buses will run along the established route. The duration of stay in mobile groups will not exceed 3 hours, and the maximum number will be 16 children aged 3 to 7 years. To make the classes interesting for all pupils, the Ministry’s specialists developed a special program for groups of different ages, and the teachers underwent appropriate training.

The educational process will go in two shifts without the obligatory organization of food, but with the possibility of warming up a light snack. A significant part of the classes is planned to be held out kindergartensrs. To do this, at each point of the route, a parking lot with a canopy, fences, benches, a slide, a swing, a playhouse and a sandbox is equipped.

“The creation of mobile and modular kindergartens is an important step caused by the acute shortage of preschool organizations in the regions. Over the two years the Ministry of Preschool Education has existed, 120 new state-run early childhood care centers have been opened throughout the republic, but this is not enough. If in Tashkent we reached coverage with preschool education of 80.6%, then outside the capital and large cities the indicators are much lower. There are areas where the percentage of children not attending pre-primary care is 90%. Construction is a long and costly process, and in some places it is still impossible due to problems with electricity and sewage, as well as the lack of a sufficient number of children. Meanwhile, education is required now, because in preschool age the need for intellectual activity increases sharply in a child.

In addition to record short implementation times, alternative forms of preschool education are less expensive. Instead of building one ordinary daycare center, we can install 7 modular daycare centers or run 7 buses, providing children with preschool education in several regions, ”said Agrippina Shin, Minister of Preschool Education of Uzbekistan.

The Mobile kindergartens project was implemented by the Main Directorate for the Formation and Management of the Policy of Preschool Education in the Ministry of Preschool Education and Uzavtosanoat JSC.

“As part of the mobile kindergartens project, the specialists of Uzavtosanoat JSC not only converted buses and trained drivers, but also set up furniture and accessories for playgrounds on the basis of subsidiaries. The production will be completely local, which will allow, if necessary, to quickly expand the fleet. In addition, we will install GPS trackers on buses to control the route and time spent in each location,” Shavkat Umurzakov, Chairman of the Board of Uzavtosanoat, said.

The Ministry of Preschool Education also presented samples of modular preschool organizations. Each structure consists of four interconnected sea containers. The main space is reserved for a training and game zone with children’s furniture, toys and educational materials. For full-day groups, lightweight, collapsible beds are provided.

Modular and mobile pre-school education will become the fast and effective solution that the sphere of preschool education needs today. They do not depend on infrastructure, as they are equipped with everything necessary: bathrooms, hot and cold water, a kitchen for heating ready-made meals, air conditioning, and buses have solar panels.

The project includes 44 mobile locations in the Republic of the Republic - in fact it is 44 mini-kindergartens with a total coverage of 2,000 children. We know the conditions in which the regions live and how parents expected this project. Even before the buses launched, they wrote to the ministry asking them to enroll their children in mobile groups. It is important that the visit to mobile kindergartens will be free.

“Also in small settlements will appear kindergartens from containers. Installation of a modular kindergartens takes only two months, which is much faster than the construction of a conventional building. In addition, they are variable: you can easily increase the area due to additional blocks, as well as disassemble and move the structure to a new place,” Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva, head of the Main Directorate for the Formation and Management of the Policy for Preschool Education in the Ministry, said`.

During the construction and decoration of mobile and modular kindergartens, heat-resistant, refractory and health-friendly materials will be used.

Specialists of the Turin Polytechnic University acted as designers of mobile preschool organizations, and UzAutoTRAILER LLC acted as modular kindergartens.