Uzbekistan's Preschool Boom: Better Futures for Children and Mothers

Walking through the corridors of public school #49 in Kosonsoy district in Uzbekistan’s Namangan region, Kosonsov Early Learning Hub teacher Saida Parpieva smiles at ten-year-old Naimakhon. Three years ago, Naimakhon’s family had just moved in from a remote village, and the local kindergarten was both too far away and expensive.

So instead, Saida came to Naimakhon: "I visited families in remote areas twice a week, working with children from four families per day. I spent 40 minutes one-on-one with each child, then 20 minutes with their parents or caregivers, to get them involved in the process and to ensure they continue learning at home. During these classes, we covered reading, drawing, numeracy, and literacy — everything these children needed to be better prepared for primary school and succeed there. I feel so happy when I see these kids performing well now."

By investing in the expansion of early childhood education, including programs reaching the poorest and remotest areas of the country, Uzbekistan is setting up students like Naimakhon to build the foundation for productive adult lives.

But for remote villages like Soy Boyi, Qumrovot, Bagish and Yangiobod in Namangan region, even these hubs are out of reach. Aqlvoy (“bright kid”) mobile kindergartens — converted buses running on a rolling schedule — can bring schooling to children in such areas.

“The parents in these rural areas are mostly engaged in agriculture throughout the day. Our mobile group on an Aqlvoy bus has been serving four remote villages six days a week since 2021, helping prepare almost 100 children for school at a time,” explains Mahliyo Boytaeva, director of public preschool #29 in Namangan’s Chortoq district.

And for some women, these new preschools are directly creating jobs. Between the two Early Learning Hub pilot sites in Namangan and Samarkand regions, over 200 women were hired as educators and support staff – 65% of whom qualified as members of low-income households under Uzbekistan's Single Social Registry.

One of these women was Nazokat, a single mother from Namangan’s region “While my son Diyorbek is at the hub preparing for school, I attend the nearby teacher training college on a full state scholarship. I struggled financially, and this hub was a life-changing opportunity. My plan is to find a teaching job at a local kindergarten."