Uzbekistan bars school principals from meetings without education ministry approval

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Science Erkinjon Turdimov said that school principals may not be summoned to meetings, including at hokimiyats, without approval from the ministry. He made the statement at a meeting with education sector representatives in Samarkand, as reported by the Telegram channel Samarqand live.

According to the minister, heads of educational institutions should focus on their direct duties rather than spend time at numerous meetings. A school should provide education and a kindergarten should provide upbringing, he said. Turdimov recounted that, while working in a hokimiyat, he repeatedly banned one school head from attending meetings, but the official kept coming, citing instructions from other officials. He stressed that the ban must be observed regardless of who invites school heads.

At the same meeting, Turdimov called for scrapping the ministry's licensing of private schools and kindergartens. He questioned why the ministry should license facilities already cleared by sanitary, construction and fire authorities. He also announced plans for a separate electronic platform for appeals from educational organisations.