The working visit of the delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan led by the Minister of Public Education Sherzod Shermatov to the United States has ended.

According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the United States, the main goal of the weekly visit was to study the advanced American experience in the school system in the context of reforms carried out in Uzbekistan in this area, as well as to establish partnership with relevant state agencies and non-state organizations.

At the meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, practical aspects of cooperation development in education aimed at implementation of agreements reached within the framework of the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United States in May 2018 were discussed.

In addition, Uzbekistan delegation visited a number of public schools in Montgomery, which are among the ten best schools in terms of quality of school education in the United States.

At the meetings with relevant agencies of the U.S. Department of State, prospects for development of bilateral cooperation on improving the system of teaching English in Uzbekistan, decentralization of the education system based on the U.S. experience, developing a monitoring system and evaluating the effectiveness of education were discussed.

An agreement was reached on implementation, jointly with American partners, of a number of projects and programs envisaging the involvement of U.S. experts in the process of structural reform of the school system, introduction of modern teaching methodology in Uzbekistan, including the so-called STEM education. The plans also include the implementation of projects on professional development for teachers of Uzbekistan in leading education institutions of the United States.

Establishment of specialized schools in the perspective for teaching all subjects in English has become a separate subject of the negotiations.

Projects of a similar nature were discussed with the leadership of the American Councils for International Education, the office of which has recently began operating in Uzbekistan. Following the meeting a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed with the organization’s President Lorne Craner, providing for interaction between the parties in training secondary school teachers, introducing information and communication technologies into the education process, as well as studying possible mechanisms for teaching schoolchildren of Uzbekistan at leading U.S. education institutions.

The delegation also held meetings with representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the American EXIM bank, as well as the World Bank to raise funds for financial and technical assistance in implementation of school education reform in Uzbekistan.

At the meetings with representatives of private companies, such as One on One Basketball Inc., issues of development of sports in education system, as well as conditions for creation of sports schools in Uzbekistan were discussed. The plans are to attract players of the National Basketball Association of the USA (NBA) to Uzbekistan for conducting a series of master classes for coaches and school students.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, within the framework of the visit, meetings were held with representatives of diaspora organizations and compatriots living in the United States. They proposed to improve the school system in Uzbekistan with a focus on introduction of ICT and distance learning in the education process, as well as mechanisms of inclusive education for children with disabilities.
 

Source: UzA