Deputy minister calls $1,000 monthly salary for all teachers as 'utopia'

On August 28, a press conference was held at School No. 298 in the Almazar district of Tashkent. The event was attended by the Minister of Preschool and School Education Hilola Umarova.

When asked why the majority of teachers still do not receive the promised $1,000 salary, the minister responded that over 6,000 teachers earn this amount, and this number is increasing each year.

These 6,000 teachers represent 1.1% of the total number of educators in the system.

"In general, increasing teachers' salaries is very important to us. We are currently working on this together with the Ministry of Finance. I want to point out that categorical tests have recently been conducted. As you know, there were presidential directives regarding additional funds for various categories, including monthly salary supplements, and this work is ongoing. However, I can say that we also have teachers who earn more than $1,000 per month.

Each field has its own KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), and there are certain requirements for our educators in the preschool and school education system. For example, if the category is high, there will be an additional allowance to the monthly salary. If the teaching is done in remote areas, the allowance is 100 percent. If a teacher prepares students for an Olympiad, they also receive an additional bonus. Funds have been allocated for teacher certification, and the number of our teachers with international certificates is increasing every year.

Previously, there was no such concept as the Minister’s Fund; now it has been established. From this fund, teachers who successfully pass exams will receive an additional 5 million UZS. This is certainly an incentive. There are no restrictions: 1,000 people or 2,000," Umarova said.

Deputy Minister for Financial Affairs Temur Komilov explained the reason for the low salary levels.

"3.5 trillion UZS are spent monthly on the salaries of school and preschool teachers. As mentioned, about 6,000 teachers earn more than 10 million UZS. Additionally, the number of teachers with salaries ranging from 3 to 6 million UZS is approaching 250,000. Regarding the low salary of 3-4 million UZS, let's consider one fact: available teaching positions in the system are 434,000, however, 537,000 people work in them. Among them are individuals with secondary special education, retirees, etc. Thus, salary levels also depend on the number of teachers, which must be taken into account.

But the idea that all teachers will receive $1,000 a month is a utopia. If we increase the salary of every teacher by at least 1 million UZS, it will cost the budget more than 7 trillion UZS annually," Komilov said.

For reference, at the beginning of the 2023/24 academic year, the number of teachers in general secondary education institutions in Uzbekistan was 547,700.

As of the first half of 2024, the average nominal monthly salary of education sector workers was 3.5 million UZS.

On June 19, at a meeting with the president, it was proposed to increase salaries for higher and first-category teachers.

According to the presidential decree of August 12, pensions and benefits will be increased by 15% starting September 1, while salaries of budgetary organization employees will rise by 10% starting October 1, and salaries of teachers and medical workers will increase by 15%.