Without an activists hall, a gym... How did the new school year start in the villages?

Today, September 4, the 2024-2025 school year began across all schools in Uzbekistan, with students returning to their classrooms. However, some schools in the republic are facing the new academic year with persistent issues. The lack of classrooms, sports halls, and assembly halls are among these challenges.

For example, the 16th school in the Ohangaron district of the Tashkent region has required a gym since its founding. As a result, 136 students are currently deprived of a full physical education program. Residents of the neighborhood have been participating in the "Initiative Budget" project for several years in an attempt to build a gym for the school. However, due to the small population of the area, their efforts have been unsuccessful each time.

On hot days, children attend physical education classes in an old, small playground in the neighborhood. But with the onset of winter, these exercises become purely theoretical. The situation has worsened to the point that physical education teachers may not receive their salaries during the winter months. Additionally, due to the small size of the classrooms, cultural events are usually held in the schoolyard.

The same issue is present in the 54th school in the district. Although this school, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was recently renovated, it still lacks many basic facilities. The school has neither a gymnasium nor an assembly hall, and there isn’t even enough land to build such spaces. A source who requested anonymity mentioned that ministry officials considered purchasing a house near the school to demolish it and build a gym. However, this plan has not been realized, and this year, 200 students at the 54th school will be unable to fully participate in physical education classes. Events will continue to take place in small classrooms.

The 22nd school in the Tashkent district of the Tashkent region was renovated after many years. The new building, which accommodates 620 students (instead of the original 680-seat capacity), includes an assembly hall, but it lacks the necessary equipment. As a result, the 700 students at the school face several difficulties when organizing events.

The school administration has applied to various authorities, including the governor’s office and the district prosecutor’s office, seeking financial assistance for the needed equipment. However, no progress has been made.

School 21 in the Tashkent district was renovated two years ago. Despite this, due to a lack of funds from the local budget, the construction of the gymnasium, assembly hall, technology room, kitchen, and other facilities for the 300-seat school remains incomplete.

As a result, 245 students are beginning the new school year in a partially completed building. Without the necessary facilities for sports, cultural events, and modern technologies, even teachers are unable to use the latest teaching methods.

In 2019, the 43rd general secondary school in the Pop district of the Namangan region was scheduled for a complete renovation. However, today the school's facilities still do not meet the needs of students, and the issue of classroom shortages remains unresolved.

The 12th school in the Kattakorgan district of the Samarkand region does not have an assembly hall. Even after reconstruction in 2023, the problem of classroom shortages persists, leading to students attending classes in two shifts. According to a source from QALAMPIR.UZ, only a few schools in the district have an assembly hall, and the lack of classrooms continues to affect extracurricular activities.

Similarly, school 93 in the Kattakorgan district has started the current academic year with inadequate facilities. In the 21st century, this school still lacks both a gymnasium and an assembly hall. Students attend classes in two shifts with a student-to-classroom ratio of 1:8. The school, which has 160 places, currently serves 280 students. Despite participating in the "Initiative Budget" program, the small population has prevented the project from succeeding.

In Andijan city, Andijan region, the library of the 17th school faces a shortage of fiction books. The 128 books provided by the state this year are far fewer than the number of students. As a result, children often read books in the library itself, though they are sometimes allowed to borrow them for home reading.

The 45th general secondary school in the Sherabad district of the Surkhandarya region, built in 1983, now faces heating issues.

Over 307 students are enrolled this year, and in 2023, a new 210-seat building was constructed adjacent to the school. Despite this, five classes still have to operate in two shifts.

Additionally, the school lacks essential facilities such as a gymnasium, assembly hall, teacher's room, or kitchen. Students conduct physical education classes outdoors, both in winter and summer, often without the necessary equipment.

In terms of musical instruments, the school only has an accordion, a rubab, and a tambourine.

Moreover, teachers at this school are frequently subjected to forced labor. During the summer, they were tasked with cleaning the school grounds, trimming trees, cutting weeds, and making classroom repairs.

Nationwide, the shortage of school places for students has increased from 1.6 million to 1.7 million.

According to estimates from the start of the last academic year, the shortage of student places exceeded 1.5 million. This indicates that the president’s target to create 250,000 new student places in 2024 has not been met. Despite this, the Minister of Preschool and School Education has once again promised that 180,000 student places will be created during the current school year, which has already begun.

Such promises were also made previously when ambitious plans to create 500,000 student places were announced.

In Uzbekistan, where billions are spent on organizing festivals, many schoolchildren have begun the new academic year without an assembly hall or musical instruments.

For years, thousands of children have been deprived of gymnasiums in a country where "generous" governors repeatedly honor athletes "at the expense of sponsors," even though the state provides them with $200,000, luxury cars, and two-story houses.