UNESCO Regional Center for Early Education to Open in Tashkent

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan will establish a Regional Center for the Development of Preschool Education under the auspices of UNESCO in Tashkent, according to provisions set out in a Cabinet of Ministers resolution dated 18 August.

The center will operate under the Institute for Retraining and Professional Development of Directors and Specialists of Preschool Education Organizations without legal-entity status. It will be located in the institute’s building in Tashkent’s Yakkasaray district.

One of the center’s main tasks will be to develop regional and international cooperation in preschool education. It will also introduce advanced practices and conduct research into preschool education programs and methods in UNESCO member states.

Its areas of work will include developing early childhood development programs, preparing new approaches to teacher retraining, and organizing training sessions, seminars and conferences. The center will also participate in monitoring the implementation of the Tashkent Declaration on Preschool Education through 2030.

The center will have 16 management staff positions, allocated from the overall staffing structure of the Ministry of Preschool and School Education.

Its activities will be coordinated by a governing council. The center will be headed by a director appointed and dismissed by the minister of preschool and school education.

In 2026, the center’s operating expenses will be covered within the budget funds allocated to the ministry. Starting in 2027, funding will be provided for in the state budget parameters.

The initiative to establish a UNESCO regional center in Tashkent was put forward by the president of Uzbekistan in November 2022. The center was envisioned as a structure that would systematically coordinate efforts in education in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In March 2026, Uzbekistan and UNESCO signed an agreement in Paris to open a preschool education center under the organization’s auspices in the country.

The Ministry of Preschool and School Education said the center would be the first institution of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region and would enable Uzbekistan to become a regional center for preschool education.

The regional center has been assigned Category II status.

Category II institutions are established and financed by states, receive special recognition from UNESCO and operate under an agreement with the organization.