The last victim of the year, or the teacher as unpaid labor?

They are expected—voluntarily, but under pressure—to protect others from potential threats and disasters. They carry out repairs that would normally require funding, entirely free of charge. They spend hours on their feet every day, and at times are required to take on maintenance work in addition to their main duties. Whitewashing trees, painting walls—it is always them. After doing all that, they are also the ones who are scolded by parents and sometimes even assaulted. At the same time, it should be noted that some teachers also find themselves at the center of controversy for using violence against students. It does not take long to understand which profession is being discussed. Once again, attention has turned to teachers—whose social status is officially set to be raised and whose salaries have been discussed at the level of state policy, including targets of up to $1,000.

“Guards” watching over a school with children in their arms

With the exception of certain professions whose duties require it, most people spent December 31 with their families, resting, or celebrating. However, teachers at School No. 37 in Buvayda District of Fergana Region were at work even during the winter break—not as educators, but as guards.

Social media reports, later confirmed, stated that under an order signed by the principal of School No. 37, teaching staff were required to perform round-the-clock duty from December 25 to January 6, for 13 days. The stated reason for assigning them was “to maintain peace and public order on school grounds and ensure the safety and health of the institution’s staff and teachers.” A widely shared video showed a female teacher on duty while holding her young child.

“We are on duty today. It’s December 31—New Year’s Eve. We are seeing off the old year and waiting for the new one here. Mukhlisa came with her daughter; the child has fallen asleep. We are sitting here on duty. We arrived at midnight. I don’t know whether the people before us came or not. I’m not sure whether this is even allowed under the law,” one of the teachers says in the video.

Comments shared in connection with the situation claimed that teachers were threatened with having their teaching hours reduced if they refused to take shifts. It was also alleged that after that, female teachers took daytime shifts, while male staff members covered nighttime duty.

At this point, a basic logical question arises. Even without speculating, one may ask how teachers assigned to prevent potential threats are expected to ensure security in a school building while students are on holiday. If individuals with criminal intent attempted to enter the school with weapons, how would a woman who had no choice but to bring her child, and her colleagues, be able to protect themselves? Yet the stated purpose of the duty was “to ensure the safety and health of teachers.”

After the video spread widely and public debate followed, the issue was resolved—in a familiar way. On January 6, the acting principal of School No. 37 was dismissed under an order from the regional Department of Preschool and School Education.

“We ask social media observers and users not to treat the situation at one school as indicative of the condition of the entire system,” the regional department said in a statement.

The department sacrificed the principal

Further developments drew even more attention. It later emerged that the instruction requiring teachers to perform round-the-clock duty in Fergana had been issued by the ministry. This revelation did not come solely from the Fergana case, but after a letter sent by the Surkhandarya regional education department to educational institutions in Termez and all districts was leaked on social media.

It was also suggested that the idea of turning teachers into guards may not have originated solely within the Ministry of Preschool and School Education, but may have come from a higher-level body. For now, however, the focus is on the content of the official instruction. The document reportedly required organizations to arrange 24-hour continuous duty and establish local штаб activities from December 25 to January 5. Regional departments passed the instruction down to city and district offices, which then relayed it to schools and preschools. This, in turn, suggests that the principal who was dismissed for carrying out the order was effectively made a scapegoat.

In this context, some have recalled remarks previously made by Syrdarya Region Governor Erkinjon Turdimov about school principals who order forced labor and teachers who comply with it. Speaking at the “National Teachers’ Forum” held at the regional administration on August 27 last year, Turdimov said:

“If there is forced labor in any school, the principal should automatically be dismissed. Those who go out to do forced labor should also be dismissed. Because if someone was forced to go to work… and if they are told ‘go’ and they simply go, what kind of teacher are they?”

The statement prompted widespread debate at the time. Returning to the issue of where the duty shifts originated, the leaked document shows it was sent from the Surkhandarya regional department to city and district offices. The letter also clearly states that a ministry instruction dated December 23, 2025 (No. 1682-XDFU) was forwarded for execution. In other words, the order came from the ministry. At the same time, the letter indicates that the ministry, in turn, was implementing a relevant protocol decision of the Cabinet of Ministers.

The letter clarified the situation in Surkhandarya, while the Fergana case became the center of public discussion. Based on this, it can be assumed that the holiday duty shifts were organized not only in Fergana or Surkhandarya, but across the country in schools and preschools. QALAMPIR.UZ reported that it attempted to clarify what was stated in Paragraph 28 of the Cabinet of Ministers document referenced, but the document could not be found on Lex.uz.

This raises a central question: what happens to a principal dismissed for carrying out a top-down instruction? Should the person be reinstated?

How legal is it to assign teachers to duty shifts?

Current regulations do not provide any basis for assigning teachers to such duty shifts. Moreover, this does not fall within their official job responsibilities.

In particular, the job descriptions for general secondary school staff approved by Ministerial Order No. 156 dated May 16, 2025, do not envisage assigning teachers to duty shifts.

In addition, Article 5 of the Law “On the Status of Teachers” prohibits involving teachers in work unrelated to their professional activities. Duty shifts at educational institutions do not constitute a teacher’s professional activity, and there is no established practice of providing additional pay for such work.

When will teachers be freed from the status of unpaid labor?

Until recently, it was no secret that teachers spent much of the period from September to December in cotton fields rather than classrooms—chalk dust replaced by calluses and injuries, and ties replaced by work aprons. Under the political will of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, such practices were stopped, and raising the status of teachers in society was declared a priority.

Teachers have since been publicly recognized at annual celebrations marking Teachers’ and Mentors’ Day, and allowances have been increased. In a greeting on October 1, 2025, Mirziyoyev described educating and raising the younger generation as “the most great and noble work in the world.”

“On such a joyful day, I once again express our people’s deep respect and appreciation to you, dear teachers, and sincerely thank you for your difficult and honorable work in creating the future of New Uzbekistan. Our efforts to make the teaching profession one of the most important and respected in our society will be consistently continued,” the president said.

In linguistic analyses of the president’s year-end address to both chambers of the Oliy Majlis, the word “education” was among the most frequently repeated terms. This, in turn, may be seen as an indication of the importance placed on learning from past shortcomings in the education system.

However, as long as cases continue to emerge at the ministerial level in which teachers are involved in work beyond their responsibilities, progress toward the stated goals may remain slow.

“We cannot abolish daily duty shifts” — ministry official

The ministry has not yet issued an official statement on the situation in Fergana. However, on August 1, 2023, the issue of duty shifts in schools was discussed during a session of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis. At the time, deputies raised the question of legally banning teachers from being assigned to duty shifts.

Former officials of the Ministry of Preschool and School Education—including former deputy minister Dilshod Kenjayev and former head of the legal department Khurshid Asrorov—addressed the issue and offered differing explanations.

Notably, Asrorov argued at the time that daily duty shifts for teachers should not be abolished.

“Every teacher has assigned teaching hours. For example, in the morning at 8:30, when children arrive, teachers who do not have a first-period class monitor whether students are coming and going, whether they enter with phones, and whether they are in uniform. This is also treated as duty. Teachers will still play a major role in monitoring school operations. If we also remove daily duty shifts, the administration may not have enough capacity. Therefore, it would be correct to remove the daily duty issue from the draft law for now,” Asrorov said.

Deputies then asked a logical follow-up question: are teachers paid for duty shifts?

The response by Dilshod Kenjayev—who was serving as deputy minister at the time—was widely seen as unexpected. He referred to teachers’ pedagogical workload and argued that duty shifts should be considered part of that workload, meaning teachers should perform duty from September through May.

“There is a concept of pedagogical workload. There is the teaching load—20 hours for one rate—and in addition there is pedagogical workload. This duty is part of it during the working period, from September to May. The fact that the draft law refers to autumn and winter means that for years teachers were assigned round-the-clock duty during the heating season. This norm is being introduced to eliminate that,” he said.

Major steps are being taken in the education sector, and trust is growing. However, the situation has reached a point where a single mistake can reduce public confidence in the broader reform agenda. Forcing teachers into work unrelated to their professional duties contradicts both the law and basic logic, and highlights irresponsible approaches within the system. Punishing one principal does not resolve the problem. Unless unlawful instructions issued from above are reviewed and discontinued, teachers will not escape the role of unpaid labor.

What is a teacher supposed to do? Manage parents who shout in a teacher’s face over minor issues? Confront potential threats they clearly are not equipped to handle? Or focus on teaching children who are often described as “the owners of tomorrow”?

It is possible that such excessive pressure contributes to a decline in the number of male teachers in schools. It may also be undermining commitment to the profession. Cases involving teachers who resort to violence, argue with others, or fail to teach effectively may also reflect stress and burnout caused by systemic pressures.

To conclude: a teacher should wear a tie on their neck—not someone else’s burden. A teacher should fulfill the trust placed in them—not paint walls or whitewash trees. Teachers should protect young minds from harmful ideas—not guard empty buildings.

Nurzodbek Vohidov