Uzbekistan - Nonformal Education

Nonformal education is the education given in either volunteer or non-certifiable form. This type of training is provided through numerous kruzhki (hobby or vocational circles) in schools or culture clubs, which make it possible for children to follow their interests. There may be fine arts, performance, sewing, culinary, or any other kruzhki that bring children together on a regular basis and give them skills and knowledge. Teachers, parents, or volunteers from the neighborhood can be leaders.

There are also various sektsii (sections) for athletic training. Those normally are used for training in basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, and other similar activities. No professional diplomas or certificates (except for winning) are awarded at the end of these programs. No specialists are prepared for this type of education either. Athletic training is provided by sections at schools, palaces of sports, or stadiums. Usually, a physical education teacher takes care of these extra-curricular activities to prepare the school basketball, soccer, volleyball, and other teams for competitions at the region, city, or even republic levels.

Traditionally, those who have not finished school attend the evening schools or centers of adult education. Approximately 93,000 students attend the evening classes in technical schools only. In addition to traditional education and professional training, the adult education system must solve some other problems. One of them is the retraining of adults from Cyrillic to Latin script. The second is training in new disciplines like democratic principles, which are necessary for participation in any international communication. The third one is management skills, which were never taught under the old system.

Due to low income and high computer prices, access to computer technology is limited, and massive distance learning (DL) is still an issue for the future. However, some institutes, like the Tashkent Electrotechnical Institute of Communications, do have DL centers and offer several courses on line. In March 1999, the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), sponsored by the United States Information Agency, organized the third in a series of conferences and seminars addressing the development of distance learning in Uzbekistan.