Improving Primary Education in Central Asia

Education is a right for all, but the gaps in access to quality education persist. Even within regions and countries, inequality remains prominent. In this light, countries in Central Asia continue to try to improve the quality of primary education to address disparities in learning outcomes, limited resources, and the evolving skill demands of the 21st century. Various initiatives are being implemented to ensure that every child in the region has access to inclusive, relevant, and high-quality education.

Primary Education in Central Asia

Primary education remains a vital foundation for child development. In Central Asia, although school participation rates are relatively high, the main challenges lie in improving learning quality and ensuring that students acquire essential skills.

In Tajikistan, for example, students spend an average of 10.9 years in school, yet their effective learning outcomes are equivalent to only 6.8 years, revealing a 4.1-year gap caused by limited learning quality. Meanwhile, more than half of the third-grade students in Kyrgyzstan have not mastered basic reading and arithmetic skills. In a classroom of 40, only around 12 children can read textbooks appropriate for their age.

Similar challenges also exist in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where ensuring literacy and numeracy skills for all students remains a pressing task. Contributing factors include limited teacher training, inadequate facilities, and curricula that are not yet fully relevant.

Multi-Stakeholder Contributions

Improving the primary education system in Central Asia requires multiple approaches to address specific issues in teaching and learning. One of the programs to improve primary education in Central Asia is USAID’s Quality Learning Project in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. This project implements student-centered learning approaches, modern teacher training, and school management reforms, while engaging 18,722 teachers and 5,800 schools to promote sustainable and innovative educational practices.

Meanwhile, the USAID All Children Succeeding (ACS) program in Uzbekistan targets 1,000 schools from preschool to the fifth grade, particularly in the Namangan and Sirdaryo regions. The program combines teacher training, procurement of teaching materials, adaptation of learning methods for children with special needs, and inclusive education policy development involving local stakeholders up to the national level.

In Kyrgyzstan, UNICEF has supported the development of State Educational Standards that align the curriculum from preschool to secondary school. These standards emphasize competency-based learning, inclusivity, and environmental awareness. The formulation process involved extensive consultations with teachers, parents, and policymakers, along with revisions to pedagogy, textbook updates, and modernization of the assessment system.

Overcoming Challenges & the Way Forward

These approaches have led to significant progress, with teachers becoming more skilled, curricula becoming more relevant, and learning assessments more accurate. However, notable challenges remain, including disparities in quality between regions, limitations in long-term funding, and shortages of teaching staff in remote areas.

Ultimately, strengthening primary education in Central Asia requires sustained commitment from all stakeholders. Governments need to ensure stable policies and funding, international organizations can help with program scalability, and communities, including teachers and parents, must actively engage in context-based training and monitoring of learning outcomes. With consistent collaboration, inclusive and effective primary education can become a reality and serve as a model for other countries facing similar challenges.

Editor: Nazalea Kusuma & Kresentia Madina

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