Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  The textbook rental system for school students will not be introduced in 2025, according to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.

This decision was made during the preparation of the budget draft for the Fiscal Strategy 2025–2027, which initially considered introducing rental fees for textbooks and workbooks for students in grades 2–11 starting from the 2025–2026 academic year.

The Ministry emphasized that the primary focus of the budget is to maintain sustainable economic growth and fulfill the state’s social obligations, including in the education sector. Additionally, the Ministry plans to conduct various analytical studies to improve efficiency.

In 2024, 1.5 trillion soums were allocated from the state budget to provide students with textbooks and workbooks, resulting in the procurement of 83.2 million copies. Of this amount, 435.5 billion soums (36%) were spent on workbooks, which are reprinted annually.

For 2025, 1.3 trillion soums have been earmarked in the state budget to cover the costs of 81 million copies of textbooks and workbooks. However, the draft budget does not include expenses or revenues for the Book Fund, as its activities have been suspended and a new fund has not been established.

The Ministry confirmed that parents will not be charged additional fees for the rental of textbooks and workbooks in the upcoming academic year.